


The Days of Our Lives: Heroes

by Kihonne



Series: Heroes in the Making: An Elite Force [7]
Category: Mighty Med
Genre: F/F, F/M, Family, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, High School, Season/Series 01, Siblings, Slow Build, Superheroes, Teen Romance, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2016-09-19
Packaged: 2020-01-05 21:49:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 121,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18374741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kihonne/pseuds/Kihonne
Summary: When best friends Dani Short, Oliver Short, and Kaz Broadman discover the existence of a secret superhero hospital, their lives are flipped upside fown forever, especially when they're offered jobs there. But working with superheroes isn't all it's cracked up to be, and comes with a lot of danger. But with the help of new friends Skylar Storm and Alivia McLean, hopefully they can find a way to make it work. Based off of the original episodes of mighty Med: Season One, but will include other stuff as well.





	1. Saving the People Who Save People

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own mighty med, or anything from the original TV show. I only own this story, Dani, Barry, Alivia, any other OCs present, and anything else you don't recognize.

**Oliver's POV**

It was an ordinary Sunday afternoon, much like every Sunday afternoon. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and as per usual, I was spending the afternoon at the local comic book store with my two favorite people in the world: Kaz and Dani.

"Okay, Kaz," I looked up at my best friend. The dark-haired fifteen year old guy glanced up at me for a moment, "Would you rather have Freeze Frame's power to stop time but you have to talk like a chicken, or Tecton's immunity to pain, but you'd have to wear a diaper."

"Oh, I'd wear a diaper, for two reasons" Kaz decided, "Number one…and number two."

I smirked and fist bumped him before glancing over my shoulder. "What about you, Dani? A pain-free, diaper-wearing life, or a chicken-talking, time-stopping one?"

"I'm with Kaz on the diaper thing." My twin sister replied, looking up from the stack of comic books she'd been examining. Her auburn hair, styled in a straight slanted bob that ended just below her jaw line, was in her face again, though it didn't seem to bother her. "The diapers would just save so much time too."

"Agreed," Kaz grinned. Suddenly, he caught sight of one of the props that were for sale. "Guys, there it is," He walked over to a display case, picking up a miniature meteorite on a stick, "the Meteorite of Zandor."

"It's the source of Tecton's immeasurable powers." Dani sighed, looking at it with envious, forest green eyes, "It's so cool."

"I have to have this," Kaz agreed, "Hidden in the Earth's core for millions of years, forged from a supernova in the Balazar Galaxy-"

"It says made in Taiwan," I pointed out.

"Well, I still want it," Kaz replied, glancing at the price tag, "But I'll never be able to afford it."

"Everything here is way over-priced," Dani complained.

"Yes, but we can still pose with it," I pointed out. Both of them grinned at the idea.

"Commemorative fake photo?" Kaz suggested. Dani and I posed with the meteorite while Kaz pretended to take a picture of the three of us. Most people think it's weird that we take these photos, but it was kinda our thing, so we didn't care what they thought.

"Dude, you blinked!" Dani accused, pretending to look at the photo Kaz took.

Suddenly, the sound of someone clearing their throat caught our attention. We looked up to see Wallace and Clyde, the two owners of the comic book store, standing in front of us. There were twins, like Dani and I, except they were identical. Hell, they even had identical haircuts. The only way to tell them apart was that Clyde wears glasses and Wallace does not.

"We'll take that, thank you," Wallace said, taking the prop out of Kaz's hands and handing it to his brother.

"Guys," Clyde began in that condescending tone of his, "you know the rules in this shop."

"Yeah," Wallace agreed, "Rule number one: no touching the merchandise."

"Rule number two: no mistaking us for each other. I'm Clyde," Clyde commented.

"And I'm Wallace," Wallace added.

"It's not that hard," Clyde insisted.

"Rule number three: if you need to use the restroom, please don't go in the Cauldron of Krepulan." Wallace finished as Clyde held up the plastic cauldron.

"That was one time!" Kaz snapped defensively. Wallace and Clyde looked at him pointedly. "Okay, twice."

They walked away after that, taking both the Cauldron of Krepulan and the Meteorite of Zandor with them.

"Hey Jordan." Dani headed over to the video game consoles, where our friend Jordan was busy playing.

"Shh." The blonde haired girl whispered, not taking her eyes off the screen. "I'm trailing this majestic unicorn. It's the last one in the entire land."

"Sounds lame." Dani commented, sounding bored.

"Boom!" Jordan shouted suddenly as her character swung an axe down on the unicorn's neck. "Cut off its head!"

"Okay, now I'm interested." My sister grinned. "Aw, look! It's blood is made of rainbows."

Kaz chuckled, then turned to Jordan. "Look, Jordan, we have to talk to you about our robot project for science day tomorrow."

"Yeah, the four of us are working on, right?" Jordan confirmed. We all exchanged glances.

"Yep, it will be just the four of us. You, me, Kaz, and Dani…" I looked away. "…and Gus."

Jordan stared at us. "What? Gus? No, no, no!" She protested. "Absolutely not!"

"We're sorry, but he is our friend." I reminded her.

"Besides, we kinda felt bad for him because no one else wanted him in their group." Dani added.

"Yeah, for the same reason no one wants a dead fish in their bed." Jordan agreed. "They both smell like dead fish!"

"We'll make him wear an air freshener?" Dani suggested, trying to be helpful. Jordan rolled her eyes.

"Look, if I don't get an A on this project, my parents won't let me play video games for a year." She informed us. "And if I can't chop of unicorn heads then…who am I?"

"We promise you, we'll keep Gus under control." I assured her. "He won't say a word."

Kaz and Dani both looked at me incredulously. "Really, where are we going to get a muzzle?" Kaz demanded.

"Fine, just keep him away from me." Jordan insisted.

"Now we have to get a leash?" Dani protested.

"This is becoming a nightmare!" Kaz complained.

"We'll take care of it." I promised Jordan. She nodded and went back to her video games. Suddenly, Dani gasped.

"Oh, Ollie." She sang, put her arm on my shoulder. She pointed past me, towards the cardboard cutouts. "Look who it is."

I gasped, looking at one particular cardboard cut-out in awe. "It's Skylar Storm!" I exclaimed, running over to the cutout. It was of a young woman wearing a black and pink uniform with a silver lightning bolt on her chest. Her dark was flowing out past her shoulders, as if it were caught in the breeze, the single, thick, pink streak visible for all to see. "She's my favorite comic book superhero! She has twenty-four superpowers, including x-ray vision, so she can see how big my heart is."

Kaz and Dani smirked at each other, and my best friend grabbed the cardboard cutout, moving it around slightly.

"Oh, Oliver," Kaz said in a higher pitch, pretending to be her, "Come here and kiss me, but be careful because you know I'm made of cardboard."

He began making kissing noises, pushing the cardboard cutout towards me.

"Kaz, Kaz, stop!" I exclaimed, pushing it away. "You heard Wallace and Clyde; no touching the merchandise."

"Oh, it's fine." Kaz rolled his eyes, even as Dani took the cardboard cutout from him.

"What's the worst that can happen?" My sister questioned, placing the cutout down. It tipped over and hit the nearby toy gun, which shot a dart into the air. The dart hit a large UFO that was hanging from the ceiling and it broke in two, the top half remaining tied to the ceiling, while the bottom half fell onto Kaz and I, trapping us together.

Dani looked at us, shocked. "Aside from that, I mean."

**Dani's POV**

"And the award for the most humiliated people in the emergency room goes to the boys stuck in the flying saucer." Oliver complained. Kaz laughed.

"Take that guy with his hand stuck in the gumball machine!" He cheered, nodding at said kid. I walked around Kaz so that I could face my brother.

"Ollie, I've apologized like a hundred times." I told him, my tone apologetic. "But c'mon, when has something like this ever happened?"

"Do you want me to answer that?" Oliver challenged.

"No." I sighed, knowing he was right.

"This is so typical!" Oliver complained, even as Kaz turned them both around, his eyes focused on a man in a trench coat. "You two always do these crazy things and expect me to just follow you!"

"Hold that thought and follow me!" Kaz exclaimed, following the trench-coated man as the stranger walked into a storage closet.

"Where're we going?" I questioned, following Kaz as he drag Oliver along with him.

"The guy who just walked into this closer – I think he was the Blue Tornado!" My best friend exclaimed.

"You mean the superhero who can spin at the speed of sound?" I exclaimed, eyes wide.

"And who is make-believe?" Oliver added.

"Have an imagination, Ollie." I scolded gently.

"I know it doesn't make any sense, but it looked exactly like him." Kaz insisted. "The same crooked nose, the same scar on his cheek, he even had a wispy beard!"

"Well, so does my grandmother!" Oliver pointed out. I nodded in agreement, then reached forward and pulled open the door to the closet. I followed the boys in, only to discover that the room was completely empty. The only things in there were a bunch of brooms and mops, and a shelf with cleaning supplies and a toilet plunger.

"Kaz, there's no one in here." I pointed out the obvious.

"I-I don't get it." He looked around in confusion. "I saw him go in here."

"Well, maybe one of his powers is to turn himself into a roll of one-ply toilet paper." Oliver exclaimed, grabbing a roll from the shelf. "Now, enough damage has been done today, so can we please just go."

"Fine." Kaz agreed. He tried to open the door, but only managed to hit me by accident. I stumbled forward, hitting the saucer that surrounded them.

"Hey!" Oliver exclaimed, reaching forward to grab hold of something to stop them both from falling. He managed to grab the toilet plunger, but to my surprise, it didn't fall off the shelf when he grabbed it. In fact, the moment he hit the handle, a bright blue screen appeared on the wall opposite of the door, strange symbols appearing on it in a 5x5 grid.

"Whoa." I stared at it in surprise. Oliver and I exchanged looks, stunned.

"Check it out!" My twin exclaimed.

"I know!" Kaz chuckled. Because Oliver was facing the screen, Kaz was forced to face the other way due to the way they'd been trapped in the flying saucer. "My mom has this exact same mop."

"No, look!" I pushed the boys around so that Kaz could see the screen too. "It's some sort of puzzle."

"I think I know what it is." Oliver turned around again, already reaching out to touch the screen.

"Is it the maze where you have to help the rabbit find its carrot?" Kaz questioned as Oliver switched pieces of the grid with each other, creating an image. "Because if so, you're on your own. Those things are impossible."

Oliver finished the image, revealing what it was supposed to look like: a silver stick with two snakes wrapped around it, and a large capital M on the top, the letter surrounded by a circle. "It's the symbol of Caduceo, the legendary healer of superheroes." I realized, recognizing the symbol from my comic books.

Kaz spun him and Oliver around so that he could see. "Oh, it says 'enter.'" He announced as the word appeared in bold, green letters.

"I guess the big decision here is," Oliver commented as Kaz pushed the button, "whether or not to push the button…You want to push it, don't you?"

"He already did." I replied, stepping back as a bright, white, vertical line appeared on the wall. The wall suddenly opened up like a set of sliding doors, revealing to us the strangest sight.

Behind the wall was another emergency room, but not like any one I'd ever seen. There were a bunch of people in here, some wearing purple or pink scrubs, but many more of them were wearing strange costumes. The costumes you'd expect a superhero like Blue Tornado to wear. The room itself looked normal, though, all except for the giant red M on the far wall.

"Guys? Where are we?" I questioned, looking around in amazement.

"Look at this place!" Kaz gasped, pointing at the guy in the trench coat. The man quickly spun like a twister, removing the trench coat. "That's Blue Tornado!"

"And that's Solar Flare!" I exclaimed, gesturing at the blonde-haired woman as fire burst from her hands.

"And there's Incognito with his power of invisibility!" Kaz shouted, pointing at where a man in a white lab coat was examining…well, we assumed that there was an invisible person there, but we couldn't see him, so we couldn't be sure. "This…this must be some kind of secret superhero hospital."

"No, no that's impossible." Oliver objected, though it was clear that even he thought that this was place was incredible. "Superheroes don't exist. That's crazy!"

Suddenly, a guy sitting in a nearby wheelchair sneezed, and an actual rocket shot out of his nose. I ducked as it flew over my head and hit the flying saucer that was surrounding Kaz and Oliver. The saucer cracked in two and fell to the ground, releasing them. "No, that's crazy." I corrected.

"We've been reading about superheroes our wholes lives and it turns out they're real?" Oliver exclaimed, eyes wide. "My entire world has been turned upside down!"

"Not as much as hers." Kaz pointed at one of the superheroes in the room who was floating upside down in midair while she did her nails.

"Cool." I smirked, just as a set of doors behind us swung open, two nurses pushing a gurney in.

"Incoming! Incoming! Make a path, people!" The tall one shouted in a scrawny voice. "I've got a non-responsive hero! Temperature is 4000 degrees Fahrenheit, and he's oozing weird blue glowing stuff that tastes like hummus! This dude needs medical attention stat!"

"Hey, that's the Crusher, the strongest man in the universe." Kaz realized, recognizing the man on the gurney.

"Hey!" I called to the tall nurse. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's going into cardiac arrest, people!" The nurse shouted, ripping open the Crusher's shirt. He stopped and shook his head at the sight of his abs. "Okay, he and I have the same personal trainer. How is that possible?"

"Clear!" A nearby doctor shouted before hitting the Crusher with defibrillators. Nothing happened.

"He's dying! We have to do something!" Oliver exclaimed. I looked at him.

"What are we supposed to do?" I demanded, confused. "We're not doctors!"

"Hold on, Dani." Kaz stopped me. "If the Crusher's real, then maybe everything we've read is real too."

"What happened in the latest issue?" Oliver demanded.

"He'd just returned from the planet…Embreyon, I think." I replied, thinking fast.

"Where the gravity is forty times that of Earth." Kaz added, thinking.

"He's crashing!" The doctor shouted in the background, once again trying and failing to revive The Crusher.

"Uh, maybe the extreme gravity pulled his heart from his chest down to his feet!" Oliver exclaimed. Now, according to the laws of physics, that was impossible. But if we were going by comic book laws…

"They're shocking the wrong place!" I exclaimed. Kaz turned around and snatched the defibrillators out of a blonde nurse's hands.

"Kaz!" I shouted, stunned. We weren't doctors! We weren't supposed to mess around with that kind of stuff.

"Clear!' Kaz shouted before shocking the Crusher on the soles of his feet. The Crusher gasped, sitting right up with a confused look on his face.

The doctors and nurses stepped back, clapping with relief. One of the doctors high-fived the Crusher, only to get thrown back across the room from the strength behind the hand slap.

"Thank you, nurse." Kaz handed the defibrillators back to the nurse, smirking at her charmingly. "I'll need the Henderson X-rays in my office. Oh, and I'll need an office."

"Kaz, what are you doing?" Oliver demanded, pulling Kaz away. "We're not doctors."

"You're not?" The tall nurse looked at us. "Guards!"

"Oh, no. We're not guards either." Kaz told him. I turned around and noticed three very tall, very strong looking men in uniforms standing behind us.

"No, but they are." I told Kaz and my brother, backing up slightly. The guards walked over to us, grabbing us each by our shoulders.

"Commemorative terrified fake photo?" Kaz suggested, holding up his hand to take an imaginative photo. We all looked at the imaginary camera, terrified, before the guards pulled us out of the emergency room.

**Oliver's POV**

"Hey, c'mon! We were just screwing around!" "We saved that guy's life!" "You're wrinkling my shirt!" We protested as they pushed us down an empty hallway. They shoved us into a nearby, dark room, closing the doors tightly behind us.

"Take it easy! My mom just ironed this shirt!" Kaz complained as the doors closed. Dani looked at me, her face illuminated by the faint red light coming from a sign above the door.

"What do you think they're going to do to us?" She questioned, biting her lip worriedly. Kaz glanced up at the sign.

"It says 'Now you die'!" He exclaimed, horrified.

"Do you think they mean one of you, or me?" I questioned. Kaz looked at me.

"Well, it says you." He pointed out.

"Silence!" A deep voice shouted suddenly, making us all jump. "You have trespassed in my hospital, and for that, the punishment is-"

"Alan?" The doors opened and a man in a lab coat walked in. He was tall, with dark hair and a goatee.

"The punishment is Alan!" I screamed, horrified. Who was Alan? Probably some evil and powerful bad guy who wanted to kill us, right?

The man in the lab coat hit a light switch and the lights flickered on, revealing to us what looked like a cafeteria. He looked up at the sign above the door.

"Stupid sign!" He muttered before hitting the wall harshly. The blow reactivated some of the lights on the sign, changing the message from 'Now you die' to 'Know your diet facts'.

"Oh, know your diet facts." I breathed a sigh of relief. "That's far less scary."

"Alan, what are you doing in the cafeteria?" The man questioned, looking past us. I turned to see a boy in a sweater vest, perhaps a year younger than us, with curly black hair sitting at one of the tables. He was holding up a coffee mug, presumably to help disguise his voice.

"Nothing, Uncle Horace." The boy replied nervously.

"Is that my mug?" The man, Horace, exclaimed before holding out his hand. "Send it over."

Alan sighed, but raised one hand and the mug flew from his grasp, slowly floating over to his uncle. "Cool." I laughed in amazement. Telekinesis.

"World's Sexiest Chief of Staff and Vice Chancellor of Medical Administration." Horace read off his coffee mug. "I bought this at a gas station – what are the odds?"

He placed the mug down on a table and finally turned towards us. "I'm Dr. Horace Diaz, head of this hospital. Who are you and what can you do?"

We all exchanged looks, not wanting to be the first one to speak. "Well, I'm Kaz, and I can do this." Kaz grabbed a tissue out of a tissue box and placed it over his face before sticking his tongue out, creating a tear in the tissue.

"Anybody can do that." Horace told him. "I meant, what are your powers?"

"We don't have any powers." Dani told him honestly. Alan jumped to his feet dramatically.

"WHAT?" He shouted. "You're Normos! Normos can't know about Mighty Med! I'm going to get a Normo cage!"

Alan tried to storm out, but Horace stopped him in his tracks. Literally. "Not so fast." He snapped, raising a hand. Alan stopped instantly, as if he were frozen.

"Can you teach me how to do that to mother?" Dani questioned, eyes bright with excitement. Despite the fact that we were clearly in a lot of trouble, she was still enjoying this. Typical.

"The Crusher is one of our most important heroes, and you saved his life. How did you know that his heart wasn't in his chest?" Horace questioned.

"Well, I thought that the super-gravity on Embreyon might have pulled his heart down to his feet." I explained.

"That's very clever. You figured that out faster than our best doctors, even Dr. Brainhead, and his entire head is a brain." Horace exclaimed. Dani smirked.

"Well, we pretty much eat, drink, and breathe superheroes." She told him, proud.

"Literally. This morning I had a bowl of a Honey Nut Blue Tornado Os." I added.

"A true fan. I love this guy!" Horace smiled appreciatively. "We might be able to use somebody like you around here."

Suddenly, a weird muffled noise came from behind us. "What's that noise?" Kaz asked, confused.

"Oh, right, Alan." Horace snapped his fingers and Alan unfroze.

"We can't have Normos here!" He protested. "I heard that if you touch them, your butt falls off!"

"That's not true!" Horace snapped before looking at us worriedly. "That's not true, is it?"

"Um, no." Dani replied, raised an eyebrow at them.

"Oh, good." He sighed in relief. "Because without a butt, what would I shake on the dance floor?"

I looked at him, remembering what he's been saying just before Alan's interruption. "So, you want us to work here?"

"Not us. You." He corrected before looking at Dani and Kaz distastefully. "Your friends seem a bit…off."

I looked to see Dani and Kaz fiddling with a strange silver cuff they'd put around Kaz's arm.

"I wonder what this button does…" Kaz hummed, pressing the button. Suddenly, his arm transformed into a chainsaw. Both Kaz and Dani screamed, the latter jumping back out of harm's way. Kaz hastened to push the button again, and his arm turned back to normal.

They exchanged looks. "That was…awesome!" "My turn!" They both exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

"I think they just proved my point." Horace told me, looking at them. He pointed at me. "You with me." He walked over to my sister and my best friend. "You two, do you happen to know if you take small or medium Normo cages?"

"What, no! We want to work here too!" Kaz protested. Dani nodded.

"We know just as much about superheroes as he does!" She agreed before looking at me pleadingly. "Right, Ollie?"

"Yeah, back us up, man." Kaz nodded.

"Yeah, they're great." I agreed, putting my arms on their shoulders. "And we're a package deal."

Horace hummed in consideration, looking us over. "…Okay, I'll give you kids a trial run."

"Yes! We get to work with real superheroes!" I exclaimed, high-fiving both Dani and Kaz.

"I can't wait to tell Gus, Jordan, and Barry about this place." Dani beamed.

"Are you crazy? You can't tell anyone about Mighty Med! It's a top secret hospital!" Alan told us smugly. Horace looked at him.

"Alan, stop interrupting." He scolded before turning back to us. "Are you crazy? You can't tell anyone about Mighty Med! It's a top secret hospital!"

"Yes sir." Dani agreed, though it was clear that she was disappointed.

"And another thing: if either of them mess up, I'm holding you responsible." Horace added, looking directly at me. I nodded nervously and watched as he and his nephew left the room. I turned to Dani and Kaz.

"You hear that? No goofing around, guys. Do not Kaz this up for me." I told them.

"Absolutely." Dani promised, while Kaz just looked confused.

"Wait, why is it 'Kaz this up' instead of 'Dani this up'?" He questioned.

"See, 'to Kaz something up' is to screw something up because you were screwing around, but to 'Dani something up' is to fail at doing something, but after you actually tried." Dani explained.

"Like all your math tests?" Kaz questioned. Dani nodded.

"And the science ones." She agreed before looking at the table. She grabbed a device off the table. "Ooh, I wonder what this button does."

"Let's see." Kaz took it from her and pressed the button, then looked at the device in disappointment. "Nothing."

Suddenly, a virtual saw blade appeared from the device, coming towards me. "Ah! Not nothing! Not nothing!"

Dani quickly turned off the device. "See? That is an example of Kazzing something up."

**Dani's POV**

After Oliver made us put the virtual saw watch thingy away, we followed Horace back out to the Emergency Room, where he showed us some of the cool tools they used on a daily basis. Then, he showed us a special television channel, where a woman in a red mask was doing a news broadcast.

"Superhero News Network has learned that the reign of terror is the work of super villain, Megahertz, who refused to be interviewed for this story." She announced. A picture of the villain, a half-human, half-titanium cyborg, appeared next to her. "He did, however, issue this statement: Bwah-ha-ha, ha-ha."

"Superhero News Network: I've never seen this channel before." Kaz commented.

"Of course you haven't. It's exclusively for superheroes, whereas Supermundo is exclusively for Spanish speaking superheroes." Horace explained. I nodded thoughtfully; it did make sense. "Now, let we show you kids around. This," he walked us over to a weird looking device, "is a web detangilizer. It's for our arachnid-based superheroes."

"This is a molecular devaporizer." He continued, showing us a kind of ray gun. "A lot of people get vaporized in this business."

"Cool." I smirked, excited.

"This," Horace moved on. He gestured at a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge. At least, I think that was the correct bridge. I wasn't the best at geography…or most classes, for that matter, "is a picture of a bridge. I love bridges! Follow me."

He led us down the hall, just past the cafeteria, to another room. It was moderately sized, with a bunch of work out equipment in one corner. Weights, an Air Elliptical and Exercise Bike just like the one from our school's weight room, a stair climber, and other sorts of exercise equipment. There was also a few items that you wouldn't expect to see in a gym, like the massive red and yellow target on the far wall, or the weird circular area near the back of the room that was surrounded by light blue and grey walls. On the other side of the room, closer to the doors we'd just walked through was a couch, a couple of arm chairs, a coffee table, and a refrigerator, along with a flat screen TV monitor on the wall. "This is our rec room," Horace explained, "where recovering superheroes work on strengthening powers and honing super skills."

"Wait, I'm confused." I stopped him, frowning. "If superheroes are real, and out there saving the world, how come we never see you guys?"

"It's combination of things. Sometimes, we erase the memories of Normos who witness our heroics." I suddenly got a text from Jordan and quickly looked down at my phone, smirking at what she had sent. "Usually we don't need to, since most of you are too busy looking down at your phones all the time."

I looked up at the same time as the boys, as they were preoccupied with their cell phones too. "Plus, some of are invisible. And sometimes, we do things so fast, you don't even see it. Like how Kaz and I just switched outfits."

We all glanced at Kaz, but he was still wearing the red and black shirt and pair of jeans he'd walked in here with. "No, we didn't." Kaz pointed out. Horace smirked.

"Or did we?" He pulled out a photo, and showed it to us. He and Kaz were standing beside each other, Kaz looking confused and Horace grinning at the camera. Horace was in Kaz' clothing, and Kaz was wearing Horace's clothing.

"Wicked." Kaz grinned.

"Wait, if you guys act in secret, why are there superhero comics and graphic novels?" Ollie asked, pointing out the obvious.

"We chronicle our adventures and sell them to the public to finance this hospital, The League of Heroes, and The Bowling League of Heroes," Horace replied before pulling three small pieces of plastic, each about the size of a pea, out of his pockets. He handed them to us, "Here are your MM-200 communicators. I'll contact you when I need you."

"Look at the size of these things." Kaz cooed, examining his communicator.

"I know; sorry they're so bulky," Horace apologized, "The MM-200-S will be much smaller, and have new funky ringtones."

"Ooh." I smiled, beaming. This was so cool!

"Man, look at all this cool stuff." Kaz looked around after shoving his communicator in his pocket. He walked over to a nearby table and picked up a metal bowl. "I wonder what this is. Some kind of high-tech memory restorer?" He guessed, placing the bowl on his head.

Ollie and I exchanged looks. "That's a bedpan." Ollie told him.

"Ew!" Kaz cried, throwing the bedpan as far away from him as possible. It hit the ground near the boots of one of the superheroes, a tall, brown haired girl in a pink and black uniform. There was a silver lightning bolt on her chest, and a very short black leather vest around her. "Sup girl." Kaz flirted immediately, before he even recognized her from her comics. But Ollie sure did.

"Wait." Ollie stopped her from walking away, a look of pure adoration on his face. "You're Skylar Storm."

"No way!" I exclaimed as the girl, Skylar, smiled at us. "Dude, you were just making out with a cardboard cutout of her."

"No I wasn't!" Ollie hissed, glaring at me pointedly. I merely smirked, amused by his reaction. He turned around and shook Skylar's hand. "Hi, I'm Oliver. I'm a big fan of your work. You have so many amazing powers."

"Had so many amazing powers." She corrected bitterly. "Yesterday, I was ambushed by the Annihilator. He neutralized my powers, stole my invisible flying motorcycle, and he even stole my costume! He left me just standing there, in my underwear."

Ollie's face went distant for a moment as he imagined that very scene. Skylar rolled her eyes, obviously knowing what he was thinking, and snapped her fingers in front of his face a couple of times. He snapped out of it, then glanced at me and Kaz. "I will definitely be buying that comic book when it comes out."

"Anyway, I came here to Mighty Med to get my powers restored…" Her face suddenly brightly slightly, looking a bit hopeful. "Unless…explode!" She raised her palm at Kaz, but nothing happened. "Nothing!" He complained.

"Bummer." Kaz replied apologetically. "Wait, if you did have your powers, wouldn't I have just exploded?"

"Into a million pieces." Skylar agreed, smiling at the very thought. Kaz stared at her for a moment, then looked back at us.

"Awesome!" He grinned, high-fiving us.

**Kaz's POV**

"Yesterday was so cool." Oliver grinned as he walked up to our lockers. "I can't believe we get to save the people who save people!"

"You should trademark that." I suggested, grinning back. "I would totally buy that t-shirt."

"Yeah, I should." He agreed, opening his locker and pulling out his books for class.

"Hey," I looked over my shoulder to see Dani walking over to us, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"Hey, how was soccer practice?" I asked, grabbing my pencil case out of my locker. She shrugged, opening her own locker and shoving the bag onto one of the shelves in it.

"Boring – half the team's out with the flu, so Coach Rombough just had everyone doing shooting drills and passing." She complained. "I can't wait until the season actually starts. So, what are you guys talking about?"

"Yesterday." Oliver replied. Dani smirked.

"About everything, or just the Skylar Storm bits?" She teased lightly, earning a glare from her brother.

"So, did you guys find anything cool?" We turned to see Jordan standing behind us, looking at us all expectantly. We all exchanged looks, hoping she hadn't overheard us.

"Like what? A hospital for superheroes?" I chuckled nervously. "No!"

"I meant for our found object robot." She reminded us, referring to our science project. "Now, this is an all day project, so please keep Gus under control all day."

"Don't worry, we won't let him anywhere near you." I assured her, not noticing Gus walking up behind her until it was too late.

"New shampoo?" The short boy guessed, smelling Jordan's hair before adjusting his glasses.

"No, it's bug repellant." Jordan replied. "And obviously, it's not working."

"Anyways, you asked for found object and I found this in my room." Gus continued, pulling a wad of cash out of his jacket pocket. "Five hundred dollars in small bills." We all looked at him. "My parents give me money instead of attention."

Jordan took the money and began to count it, just as the communicators that Horace gave us began to buzz. A quick look at the very tiny screen told us that he was calling us back to the hospital. "Excuse us for a minute." Oliver pulled Dani and I off to the side, out of earshot.

"Horace is paging us to the hospital." Dani whispered, looking at her communicator.

"What do we do?" Oliver questioned, looking at Jordan and Gus.

"Well, we have to go." I reasoned. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime."

"You're right." He agreed. Dani glanced back at our friends.

"What are we going to tell Jordan?" She asked. Oliver considered it for a moment, then nodded to himself.

"Follow my lead." He instructed. He walked over to Jordan and Gus, Dani and I following closely behind him. "Uh, hey. Kaz, Dani, and I have to take off for a bit."

"What?" Jordan demanded, staring at us in horror. "You can't go! You guys promised to help me on this project."

"We'll be back soon, okay?" Dani assured her.

"We just have to stop by my grandmother's house." Oliver lied.

"Which is on fire." I added, trying to be helpful. The twins both looked at me before turning back to Jordan.

"Fire Creek drive." Dani said, a little flustered. "Where she lives. She needs us because of-"

"-the fire." I interrupted.

"Alarms!" Oliver exclaimed. "Fire alarms. She needs us to make sure they're working because of-"

This time, they both glared at me. "Yes, sure, our grandmother's house is on fire." Dani decided just to go with it.

"Okay, gotta go, see ya!" I rushed them out of there before Jordan could object.

"Please hurry back! I need you guys! Do not flake on me!" She shouted after us as we bailed. The moment we were out of earshot, my best friends both turned to stare at me.

"Fire?" Oliver repeated. I shrugged.

"Just trying to help." I replied before racing in the direction of the hospital.

**Oliver's POV**

"Boys, Dani!" Horace greeted as we walked through the Mighty Med door. "So great to see you."

"Yes, so great." Alan commented sarcastically. He was standing next to his uncle, wearing a lab coat and carrying around a tablet.

"So, what's going on?" I asked curiously.

"Megahertz has run amuck in the city. We'll need your help." Horace explained just as a set of double doors swung open.

"Make a path, people!" Benny, the nurse yesterday, shouted as he pushed a gurney into the room. A tall, blonde haired man was on the gurney, dressed in a red-ish/orange uniform with black boots and gloves. A stop sign was protruding from his chest. "I've got a beloved superhero with a puncture wound to the chest. Object appears to be a…stop sign?"

"That's Tecton!" Dani gasped, recognizing her favorite comic book hero. "You're, like, my favorite superhero ever."

"Are you okay? What happened to you?" Kaz questioned, looking him over.

"Megahertz was robbing the Federal City national bank. When he tried to make an unauthorized withdrawal, I stopped him." Tecton explained. "Unfortunately, he made an unauthorized deposit of this stop sign in my chest." He finished, flicking the stop sign.

"Man, how cool is this guy?" Dani laughed. "He's skewered and he's still making quips."

She was beaming excitedly, and I couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. And she teased  _me_  for being star-struck when I met Skylar Storm.

"Hey, I know people must ask you this a lot," Kaz began, revealing that my sister wasn't the only one excited to meet him, "but can you punch me in the stomach?"

"I'm sorry, but if I punch you in the stomach, I have to punch everybody in the stomach." Tecton replied, much to Kaz' disappointment. "Also, you'd die instantly."

"Benny, wheel Tecton to the OR." Horace told the nurse after examining Tecton.

"Yes sir." Benny nodded and began wheeling Tecton away. "Ooh, who's your trainer? Because I am this close to firing Guillermo."

Horace turned to us. "How would you three like to observe Tecton's surgery?"

We all grinned excitedly. "Are you kidding?" Dani laughed in amazement. "We'd love to!"

I was all on board for a moment, then I remembered what Jordan had said to us before we left. "Oh, but…we kinda have a prior commitment."

"Right, Jordan…" Kaz remembered. Horace looked at us.

"Huh, I thought your commitment was to this hospital." He mused. "I guess I misjudged you."

"No! No, you didn't!" Dani protested. I nodded quickly.

"We definitely want to work here; it would be a dream come true." I agreed. "We promised our friend…"

"This is Tecton." Kaz insisted. "Tecton."

"Besides, we can find new friends." Dani agreed. I looked at her.

"Where?" I questioned. Gus had been our friend since the 1st grade, and Jordan since 6th. Where were we supposed to find friends like them so easily?

"I don't know. EBay?" Dani suggested, shrugging. She turned to Horace, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "We're in."

"Splendid. You'll be saving the people who save people!" He proclaimed. Kaz sighed.

"I told you that you should have trademarked that." He said.

"Too late!" Horace smirked and ripped open his buttoned shirt to reveal a light blue one underneath, the words 'Saving The People Who Save People' written in big, dark blue letters.

**Dani's POV**

"So, do you think Jordan's gonna kill us for ditching her?" Ollie mused as we waited for Horace to come get us for Tecton's surgery. Kaz and I exchanged looks, knowing full well that she was indeed going to kill us, but also knowing that telling my brother would make him feel even more guilty about abandoning her than he already did.

"Nah, she'll get over it." Kaz lied, just as his phone began to beep. He answered the video chat request without a second's thought. "Oh, hey, Jordan."

Ollie and I just stared at him like he was crazy, wondering why he would answer that call.

" _Gus is driving me crazy, and I can't finish this project without you guys!"_  She exclaimed. "Is Oliver and Dani's grandma okay?"

"Um, yes, yes, she's fine." Oliver assured Jordan, taking the phone from Kaz and pointing it so that she could see both of us. "Turns out she just burnt some toast in-"

"The fire." Once again, Kaz's obsession with fire influenced his attempts to help. Ollie and I didn't even bother saying anything this time, just shaking our heads at him.

" _Hurry."_  Jordan pleaded. _"We have to turn this project in in three hours, and it's only half-finished."_

"We'll be there." I promised before hanging up for Kaz. I turned to look at him. "Now, this is just me, but I don't think it's a great idea to accept video chat requests in super-secret hospitals. Or any other location that is super-secret."

"Right." Kaz agreed sheepishly, pocketing his phone. We waited a few more minutes, but eventually, boredom set in.

"Let's go explore." I decided. Ollie shook his head.

"Horace said to wait here." He reminded me. I looked at him.

"And you always do what you're told?" I questioned.

"Yes, it's why adults like me more." He pointed out. I rolled my eyes and turned to Kaz, since he could always be counted on to follow me when I wanted to do something that Ollie didn't.

"Wanna go see if we can find the OR on our own?" I questioned. He grinned.

"Sure!" He exclaimed. I smirked and looked at my brother.

"Two against one, Ollie. Democracy for the win!" I grinned before heading down the hall. After a couple of wrong turns, we finally found the OR, where Tecton was already prepped for surgery. "Look at this place." It was actually a pretty cool room, with lots of flashing lights and cool gizmos.

"Mom and Dad always said we were wasting our lives reading comic books, but look at us now!" My brother exclaimed, grinning. I looked up, smiling, only to see Kaz with a surgical glove on his head like a hat.

"Check it out!" He chuckled. "I'm a rooster."

I laughed lightly in amusement, while Ollie just shook his head. "Hey, are there any more?" I asked, looking around for where he got the glove.

"Stop Kazzing around, you guys." Ollie scolded. "I vouched for you two, and this job is really important to me. This could be the best afterschool job ever!"

"Dude, I'm sorry, but if you leave a glove around, somebody is going to leave it on their head." Kaz insisted. I nodded, looking at Ollie.

"It's science." I agreed. Ollie just crossed his arms and looked pointedly at Kaz. He sighed.

"Fine, I'll behave." He promised, taking the glove-hat off.

"Thank you." Oliver replied. I looked at Tecton, who was lying on the gurney, unconscious.

"I hope Tecton's going to be okay." I hummed worriedly. "He's the only one who can stop Megahertz."

"Of course he's going to be okay, Dani." Kaz assured me. "He survived falling into the Earth's core."

"Only because the meteorite in his chest gives him healing powers." Ollie pointed out. Kaz stared at him, his face lighting up as if he'd just had an idea.

"That's it." He realized. I nodded, following on the same train of thought as him.

"He can heal himself." I whispered, realizing. Kaz nodded at me.

"I'm going to prove to Horace that I belong here." He declared before running around Tecton and reaching for the stop sign.

"Kaz, wait!" Removing the stop sign would solve the problem, but we should at least wait for Horace to get here, so he can see Kaz in action. Kaz either didn't hear me, or ignored me, as he carefully slid the stop sign out of Tecton's chest. He held it upright, the metal pole covered in light blue blood.

"What did you just do?" Ollie stared at him, absolutely horrified.

"He just saved our favorite superhero." I frowned, unsure of why Ollie was so upset. We worked here now; wasn't that what we were supposed to do? Save superheroes?

"Like a boss." Kaz added, pointing his index finger at me and smirking cockily.

"We were just supposed to observe the surgery!" Oliver's voice had risen, and though he wasn't quite yelling yet, Kaz and I could both tell that he was coming close.

"Relax!" Kaz exclaimed. "He always heals – that hole is going to close right up."

We all looked at Tecton's chest, where a massive hole was still visible. After a few seconds, I glanced at Kaz. "Uh…"

"Give it a minute." Kaz hissed, his smile somewhat fading. "Any second now…" Still nothing. "Uh oh."

"Oh, man." I brought my hand through my hair, eyes wide. What did Kaz just do?

"If anyone sees this, we're finished!" Ollie exclaimed. "I told you two seconds ago how important this job was to me, and you did this?"

"Hey, in all fairness," I laughed nervously, "two minutes ago, when you said all that, he probably wasn't listening."

Kaz shook his head, agreeing with me, though my brother certainly did not look amused. Kaz gulped and held up his hand. "Commerative I-Kazzed-This-Up fake photo?"

Ollie shook his head and we all exchanged looks. How were we supposed to fix this? After this, there was no way Horace was going to let us keep our jobs.

**Oliver's POV**

"Kaz, how could you do this?" I demanded, looking through the hole in Tecton's chest. Kaz didn't answer, instead biting on his knuckles nervously while my sister ran her hands through her hair, eyes wide.

"He has a giant hole in his chest!" She exclaimed, beginning to panic.

"Hey, calm down. Everything's going to be fine." Kaz assured her, pacing a little. Suddenly, his face lit up. "I have a solution! You wouldn't happen to have a giant cork on you, would you?"

"A giant cork?" I repeated, looking at him. Kaz nodded.

"Yeah, because I only have this pretty big one." He added, pulling a large cork out of his pocket. Dani took the cork out of his hands, examining it.

"Well, we could put this-" She began, but I cut her off, snatching the cork from her hands.

"No." I told her sternly before looking at Kaz. "What are we going to do?"

"I'm going to figure out why Tecton won't heal, you two stay here." He decided, beginning to head for the door. I turned and looked at him.

"And do what?" I demanded.

"Oh, it's simple." Kaz assured me. "All you have to do is keep out the dozens and dozens of doctors, nurses, orderlies, and technicians who could walk in here at any moment."

"Is that it?" I questioned sarcastically. Kaz put his hands on my shoulders.

"Hey, look at me. Everything is going to be fine. Have I ever let you down before?" He asked.

"Constantly." I answered.

"Name one time!" He protested.

"When you pulled out the stop sign!" I shrieked.

"That was thirty seconds ago, Ollie. Stop living in the past." Dani told me. Kaz nodded.

"You know why they call it the 'present'? Because it's a gift." He agreed. I looked at him, a little frustrated.

"Look, Kaz and I will go to the Domain and go through all the Tecton comic books." Dani told me. I looked at her, a bit upset.

"You're ditching me too?" I protested. She looked at Kaz, then at me.

"Well, you're getting frustrated and you tend to yell when you're frustrated and I don't want to be yelled at, so yeah." She replied before pushing Kaz out the door.

**Kaz's POV**

"Issue 145, Tecton battles the Impaler." I announced, skimming through the comic books. Dani and I had been here for almost half an hour, and still nothing.

"Let me guess: he gets impaled." Dani stated, not looking up from the comic book she was looking through. While I was standing above the metal box of comic books, she'd simply taken a stack from a different box and sat on the ground between the two piles of finished and unfinished issues.

"Obviously." I nodded. "But he instantly heals."

"Tecton fights the Ambusher, gets ambushed, gets hurt, instantly heals." Dani slapped another comic onto her pile of finished comic books. I shook my head, frustrated.

"I don't get it." I muttered.

"What's not to get?" Clyde questioned as he and his brother walked over to us.

"Tecton always heals." Wallace nodded as Clyde pushed back a couple of posters to reveal a poster for one of Tecton's next movies, Tecton Always Heals. "It's why he never loses." Clyde pulled back the poster to show another one that read: Tecton Never Loses.

"Guys, we're kinda bus-" Dani broke off, looking at them. She jumped to her feet, an excited look on her face. "What's in that box?"

I looked at the box that Wallace was carrying, noting the picture of Tecton on the side of it. The two comic book store owners opened the box and inhaled deeply. "I love the fresh smell of new comics." Clyde smiled.

"This new batch smells like lavender." Wallace noticed.

"That's actually my cologne." Clyde explained.

"It really smells nice." Wallace complimented. Dani cut in before they could continue.

"Is that the new Tecton comic book?" She questioned. Realizing where she was going with this, I tried to grab one out of the box, but Wallace and Clyde moved out of arm's reach.

"Are you mad?" Wallace demanded.

"The release date on that comic is tomorrow!" Clyde snapped.

"So?" I demanded, looking at them.

"So?" They repeated, stunned.

"Okay, are there no more rules?" Clyde questioned.

"Are we living in a post-apocalyptic lawless society?" Wallace challenged.

"Because if we are, I'd like to ride a motorcycle." Clyde continued.

"And I'd like to wear an eye patch." Wallace added before the two began to leave.

"We need to get those comic books. Ollie's depending on us." Dani insisted, following me up to the counter.

"Maybe there's something in there that explains why Tecton's not healing." I agreed. Clyde chuckled in amusement.

"You make it sound like he's a real person." He mused. Dani and I exchanged looks, trying to figure out a way to explain this.

"He is to me!" Dani cried suddenly, looking at Wallace and Clyde with big, puppy-dog eyes. I nodded eagerly, guessing what game she was trying to play.

"She's got this whole fan-girl crush on him, and it's bad man. I mean, she writes fanfiction and everything." I told them. "The only thing that will appease her is that comic book."

"Fanfiction? What type?" Wallace questioned, looking at her. She shrugged.

"Romance?" She replied. "And humor too."

"She's got this one where Tecton pops a zit that won't heal and he keeps picking at it." I explained. Clyde shook his head.

"That's no way as good as our fanfiction." Clyde insisted. "Two stunningly handsome twin brothers-"

"-slash shopkeepers-" Wallace added.

"-are captured by two stunningly gorgeous swimsuit models-" Clyde continued.

"-slash vampire hunters-" Wallace interjected.

"-who cook the brothers grilled cheese sandwiches whenever they want." Clyde finished.

"Pa-pow." Wallace bumped fists with his brother.

"Wow, that sounds really good. Can we read that?" I exclaimed with as much fake enthusiasm as I could muster. They looked at each other, excited.

"Really?" Wallace asked. Dani nodded quickly.

"Oh yes. I could use a few pointers." She agreed.

"O-Okay, our first fan." Clyde smiled.

"We'll get you guys copies." Wallace agreed and the two brothers raced back into the back room of the shop.

"Thank you." Dani smiled until they left. The moment they were gone, I grabbed one of the comic books out of the box. We raced for the exit. "We'll pay for that later!" Dani called over her shoulder, running just ahead of me.

We'd almost made it to the exit when Jordan walked straight into us. She stared at us as we backed up a bit, knowing she would be mad at us. "Hey, Jordan…" I smiled nervously. "What are you doing here?"

"Coming to work on the project as far from Gus as possible." She explained, seeming more than a little annoyed. "What are you two doing here?"

"Um…We're not here." Dani lied. "We're Kaz and Dani's avatars in a new videogame with holograms."

"I-I can't believe you guys!" Jordan yelled. "You ditched me so you could go get a comic book?"

"Jordan…" I began, not really sure of what to say.

"No, no! You two just sit down and help me build the stupid robot!" She snapped, dropping her backpack onto the ground.

"We can't, we have to go." I told her apologetically, trying to get past her, but she stepped into our way.

"If either of you walk out that door, I will never speak to you again." She threatened. "Seriously; my sister ate my cupcake and I haven't talked to her since January."

"We're sorry." Dani told her. Jordan glared at her.

"I mean it, Short." She growled. Dani gave her an apologetic look, then headed for the exit. I started to follow her, then stopped at the door and gave Jordan a small grin.

"By the way, this might not be the best time to mention this, but…" I gave her a sheepish smile, "I ate your cupcake and blamed your sister."

And with that, I ran after Dani in the direction of Mighty Med.

**Skylar's POV**

I was hanging out in the rec room, checking out one of the magazines, when Dr. Horace Diaz finally walked in, that annoying nephew of his, Alan, in tow.

"Skylar, I've got your test results." Horace announced. I hopped to my feet, impatient. I'd already been here for a day, and all I wanted to do was get out of here.

"So I'm good?" I confirmed. "Because I'm all ready to fly back to my planet. I just need to stretch, because it's, like, a 700,000,000,000 mile flight."

Horace gave me a sort of look, a strange cross between sympathy and pity, then gestured at the couch behind me. "Please, sit." He requested, taking a seat himself. I did so, though I couldn't understand why I would need to. "How can I put this…Life is a winding road, and every superhero experiences a series of triumphs and-"

"You're not getting your powers back!" Alan shouted, cutting him off. I stared at him, shocked. "You're basically just a Normo! Normo!"

"Alan!" Horace scolded, jumping to his feet. "Why would you say that to her?"

I got up too, sighing a breath of relief. "I was worried there for a moment. So that's not true?"

"Oh, it's true. I just wouldn't have said it like that." He replied, and suddenly, I felt like I couldn't breathe.

I was powerless, basically just a Normo. My powers had been the only thing I'd always had with me. They were what made me special, what made me stand out. They were such an integral part of who I was…I didn't know who I was without them. "So it's hopeless?" I heard my voice break.

"Nobody's saying it's hopeless." Horace promised me.

"I am." Alan smirked in the background.

"Skylar, right now, we simply don't know how to restore your powers." Horace explained, putting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "One day we might, but not now. I'm sorry."

Horace patted my shoulder gently before walking away. I took a deep breath, attempting to steady myself, then looked at a bench press nearby, the weights that The Crusher had been using earlier still on the bar.

I was going to prove that Horace was mistaken. I couldn't have lost my powers forever! I wouldn't give up that easily!

"What are you doing?" Alan demanded, watching me walk over to the bench.

"My powers are in me somewhere, I know it!" I exclaimed, fighting to keep the tears back. "If I just focus!"

"You can't lift that; it's too heavy." Alan reasoned as I sat down. I glared at him.

"I am Skylar Storm! And nobody tells me what I can or can't do!" I shouted angrily before lying down. I gripped the bar tightly and with all my strength, I lifted it off the bar.

Immediately, my arms protested to the burden, wanting to collapse on me. I fought the urge to let go as long as I could, but slowly the bar began to drop lower and lower.

"It's going to crush you! Let me help you!" Alan insisted. I gritted my teeth, not willing to give up.

"Don't you dare!" I growled, closing my eyes and craning my neck back so that it would not fall on my face. Suddenly, the weight disappeared completely. My eyes snapped open in time to see the weighted bar slowly float from my hands back onto the rack. "I told you not to help me!" I shouted, getting up.

"I saved your life!" Alan snapped back. I shook my head angrily and stormed out of the room, trying to ignore him as he continued to shout at me. "I didn't have to do that! I was voted 'Most Likely to Lose a Patient'!"

**Oliver's POV**

What was taking them so long? Kaz and Dani should have been back ages ago. I paced impatiently outside of the OR, glancing down the hallway in hopes that either of them out appear.

Unfortunately, all I could see was a group of nurses and doctors headed my way. "Uh, you're looking for room 31?" I questioned, looking at them. The doctor in the front, a pretty dark haired lady, nodded. "You're at the wrong room. This isn't room 31, it's…" I took the sign on the wall and turned it vertically. "…room W underline."

Somehow, they actually fell for that and kept walking, looking for the room they were trying to find. Finally, I saw Dani and Kaz tearing through the hall towards me, the latter clutching a comic book in his hands.

"We're back!" Kaz gasped as they skidded to a stop. I looked at the two of them desperately.

"Where've you been? Do you know what I've been through here?" I demanded. "And what took you so long? Did you find a way to fix Tecton?"

Dani took a deep breath, then answered all of my questions in one go. "The Domain. No. He's out of shape. Maybe."

I gave her a look, then grabbed her and Kaz by the arms and dragged them into the OR. "What did you find out? Why isn't Tecton healing?"

"We don't know." Kaz admitted. "We got the new Tecton comic book, but it doesn't say anything."

"We do have good news, though." Dani smiled. I looked at her hopefully.

"What?" I asked.

"Remember that really long list of things Jordan hates?" She asked. I nodded. "Yeah, we're on that now."

I let out a frustrated sigh. "Why did I vouch for you guys?"

"Whoa, hey! Kaz was the one who pulled the stop sign out!" Dani protested. I gave her a look.

"If he hadn't done it, can you honestly say that you wouldn't have?" I questioned. She hesitated before responding.

"That's not the point." She argued. I shook my head.

"So much for working here!" I exclaimed. Suddenly, a thought came to me. "And now that we know about Mighty Med, they'll have to erase our memories or shoot us into a black hole or-or worse!"

They both looked at me, confused. "What can be worse than being shot into a black hole?" Kaz questioned, confused.

"Getting vaporized. A lot of people get vaporized in this business!" I mimicked Horace from before.

"They won't really…they're not actually going to do that, right?" Dani didn't look so sure. Suddenly, we heard Alan's voice from outside the room.

"Out of my way!" We heard him call.

"Alan!" Kaz hissed, standing up and trying to block Tecton from view. I stood next to him as Dani grabbed the stop sign and shoved it between us so that one who didn't know better would think that it was still in Tecton's chest.

Alan walked in and looked at us, confused. "Where is everybody?"

"In the world? Mostly China." Kaz replied.

"Although India is gaining fast." I added. Alan raised an eyebrow at us.

"Why are you standing like that?" He questioned, noting the way we were leaning over Tecton's gurney with the stop sign stuck between us.

"Standing like what?" My sister lied smoothly as she leaned even closer to me. "This is how Normos usually stand."

"Yeah, get with it." I agreed, emphasizing her point. Alan nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh, okay. I guess everything's fine here. I should get going." He started to leave, then turned back to us. "Oh, one more thing."

He raised his hands and an invisible force pushed us apart. Kaz almost flew right into the door while Dani and I hit the ground. The stop sign clattered on the tiled floor beside us while Alan stared at Tecton in horror.

"Busted!" Alan shouted. "There's a giant hole in his chest!"

I slowly climbed to my feet. "Alan, I know we didn't start off on the right foot, but you gotta help us!"

"Oh." He seemed surprised that I'd ask him that. "Well, okay." He turned to Kaz. "Grab me the hole closing glue."

Kaz nodded. "Okay, where is it?"

"It's right on the Normos-are-incredibly-stupid cabinet!" Alan laughed at us. Kaz gave him an annoyed look. "There's no such thing as hole closing glue. But seriously, quick, grab me the stomach sealant."

"And where is it?" Kaz asked.

"Right on the Got-You-Again shelf!" Alan was clearly amused. Kaz glared at him. "You Normos are going down, and I'm going to make sure everybody knows about this! Everybody!"

After quickly adjusting his sweater vest, he left the room, probably going to go find Horace and rat us out.

"Thanks Kaz," I looked at my best friend, annoyed. "Thanks for ruining the one thing that made me feel like I really mattered."

"Oh, so I guess me giving you my last piece of gum this morning meant nothing to you!" Kaz snapped.

"Guys, shut up!" Dani exclaimed. She looked at me. "Ollie, it sucks that we might lose our jobs, but Kaz was trying to do the right thing. Lay off."

"Not going to happen." I brushed her off, walking out of the OR. Kaz followed me out, Dani trailing behind.

"Hey, if it wasn't for me, you never would have gotten this job in the first place!" He snapped angrily. "And you never would have done anything fun, either. Like riding a skateboard on top of a skateboard, or playing ice football on that frozen lake."

"That was my idea." Dani pointed out, looking at him.

"And I fell in ice after you tackled me!" I argued. "I had to be evacuated to the hospital!"

"You got to ride in a helicopter!" Kaz pointed out. "How fun was that?!"

"You know what?" I demanded. "I'm done with you. All you do is get the three of us into redonkulous situations."

"Name one time!" Kaz protested as Horace walked into the hall with Alan. The man took one look inside the OR, then looked at us.

"Whoa, this is a redonkulous situation." He commented. Kaz rolled his eyes.

"Aside from that." He said, even though we all knew my point had been made.

**Kaz's POV**

We followed Horace and Alan into the OR. "I told you they pulled out the sign!" Alan exclaimed. Horace looked down at Tecton, then at us.

"Kids, I'm afraid you're going to have to pay the consequences." He told us seriously. "Hypothetically, if you were going to be compacted into a small cube, where would you want that shipped?"

"Wel-" Dani began to reply, but stopped when she saw the look Oliver was giving her. Suddenly, a loud whining beep came from the computer screen at the end of Tecton's bed. Horace ran past us, quickly checking the stats.

"Tecton's vitals are dropping!" He shouted. Suddenly, the entire room shook violently, the lights flickering and some of the cool gadgets falling off their shelves. The force knocked us off balance, and everyone in the room braced themselves.

"What was that?" Dani demanded as nurses and orderlies raced into the room.

"Tectonic tremors." I realized. "Tecton's powers are connected to the earth."

"When his body's in distress, he sends out uncontrollable seismic waves." Oliver added as the room shook again.

"Wait! He's stabilizing; his pulse is normal." Benny announced. Then he looked to see which wrist he was checking. "No, that's my pulse. The good news, I'm fine! But he's, uh, almost dead."

The room shook again, the tremors growing in strength. "We have to save him!" Horace exclaimed. "If he dies, no one will be able to stop Megahertz and he will continue his reign of terror!"

"We have to do something!" I exclaimed. Dani looked at him.

"Like what? We searched through every comic book, and we found nothing." She insisted. There was another tremor, this one strong enough to bring people to the ground. I grabbed onto a nearby machine, and Dani tumbled backwards into me. "Sorry." She apologized as I helped her up.

"Something's interfering with his ability to heal." Oliver stated, pushing himself away from the wall he'd fallen into. He looked at us. "Name everything you know about Tecton, starting with his first comic book."

"Okay." I nodded. "The Adventures of Tecton, Issue One. Copyrighted in 1975-"

"Oh my gosh, flip ahead!" Oliver shouted, exasperated.

"He gets his powers from the Delta radiation which emanates from the meteorite inside his chest." I stated, thinking hard.

"And his only weakness is Gargulon gas, but it doesn't exist on Earth in its natural form." Dani continued. The room shook again, but luckily, I had an idea.

"But Gargulon gas is formed when…" I realized the answer at the same time as the twins.

"Delta radiation reacts with gold!" We said in unison.

"There must be gold inside of him!" Dani exclaimed. "He was at a bank, right? A gold coin perhaps?"

"I'm going in!" I shouted, not waiting to see if anyone would argue. I ran over to Tecton and shoved my hand through the hole in his chest. The inside was gooey and sticky and really wet, and it had to the most disgusting thing I'd ever done in my life. But hey, there was a cute nurse watching me, so it wasn't THAT bad. "'Sup girl." I nodded at her.

"Kaz!" Dani snapped, her voice drawing me away from the smiling nurse.

"Right!" I replied apologetically, going back to the task at hand. After a couple of moments of fishing around in Tecton's chest, I felt something flat and hard. "Got it!" I announced, slowly removing a gold coin covered in light blue blood.

"Knew it." Dani grinned, reaching for the coin. She took it from me, a fascinated look on her face.

"It's covered in guts." Oliver grimaced. Dani raised an eyebrow and shoved it in his face.

"What? Afraid of a little alien guts, Ollie?" She teased. "Anyway, the coin must have gotten in there when Tecton was stopping Megahertz at the bank."

"He's starting to heal." Horace sounded surprised, smiling as he examined Tecton. He turned to us, delighted. "Well done! You were right!" He shook our hands. "You do make a great team!"

"What?" Alan protested, even as the other nurses, orderlies, and doctors applauded for us. "But they broke the rules!"

"And then they saved the day!" Horace added. "So, I'm going to totally ignore the first part."

He turned back to us and put his hands on my and Oliver's shoulders, Dani standing between us. "Now, to celebrate the real heroes of this hospital. Nurse! Get the limbo stick!"

"Man, I love this place." Dani beamed, looking between me and Oliver. Suddenly, Skylar Storm burst into the room.

"There you are!" She exclaimed. "You need to see this."

"Again with the videos of you doing back flips?" Benny complained. "We get it. You're flexible."

"Hey! That video has fifty-six likes!" Skylar snapped.

"One dislike." Benny remind her, pointing at himself.

"That's not what I need to show you!" Skylar insisted before heading to the TV on the far wall. She changed the channel to the SNN channel.

" _Superhero News Network has just learned that three Normos are now working at Mighty Med Hospital."_  The newscaster lady announced and our smiles faded.  _"The Normos performed unauthorized surgery on Tecton, who is now very, very weak. This, according to our source, a young man who was clearly disguising his voice by speaking into a coffee mug."_

"Well that's enough of that!" Alan exclaimed, turning off the television before looking at his uncle guiltily. Horace looked at him, furious.

"Alan! Do you realize what you've done?" He questioned. "Now Megahertz knows that Tecton is here, and weak! You are in big trouble! Big trouble!"

"Oh, come on! What are the odds that Megahertz was watching at that exact moment?" The kid exclaimed, trying to defend himself.

Suddenly, lightning flashed, even though we were nowhere near a window. "WHERE IS HE?" A menacing voice demanded, the sound echoing around the room. "WHERE IS TECTON?"

"I'd say a hundred percent." I looked at Alan pointedly.

**Oliver's POV**

"Follow me." Horace instructed, already heading for the door. We ran after him and ended up in the main ER, where a tall man in a black uniform stood in front of the entrance. He had short, spiky black hair, squinting eyes, and strange metal cybernetic attachments all over his face. Red electricity flowed from his fingertips.

"Guards, get him!" Horace shouted. The same guards who we'd met the other day raced towards Megahertz, who only seemed amused.

"You're going to try to stop me? How quaint." He commented before blasting them halfway across the room with his electricity blast.

"Oh, he's good. I'll grant him that." Horace commented as Tecton used his powers to fling the furniture in the room out of the way.

"Megahertz is going to find Tecton!" I exclaimed as we ducked behind one of the counters that had been thrown towards us. "We've got to do something!"

"Like what? We don't have any powers!" Kaz reminded me.

"Neither do I." Skylar stepped out from behind us, but unlike us, she was standing tall, instead of hiding. "But I can still do this."

She snapped into her signature fighting position. "Hey Megahertz!" She called, getting his attention. "There's a storm coming! Skylar Storm!"

"That's my boo." I grinned, watching her and Megahertz eagerly.

Megahertz tossed away the guard he'd been about to pummel, then turned to face Skylar. A ball of electricity appeared in his right hand. He threw it at Skylar's feet, hoping to knock her down, but she leapt over it, doing a handless cartwheel in the process.

She landed in front of him, her fist already swinging towards him in a punch. He blocked her first two blows, then spun around and attempted a couple of his own, but Skylar leapt out of his way, landing gracefully on her feet.

Watching her fight was like watching an intricate dance. She was so sure-footed, experience telling her where and when to move. The whole thing came so naturally to her, no one could doubt that she was a good fighter, even without her powers.

She managed to get a few good hits in, but it was when she punched him and he hardly noticed that I realized she wasn't going to be able to win this fight on her own.

"Can't you do something?" Kaz whispered to Horace, clearly thinking the same thing as me. To our disappointment, he just shook his head.

"His electromagnetic field is blocking my powers." He replied.

"She can't hold him off for long." I worried. I looked at Dani and Kaz. "We've got to create a diversion. Kaz, it's time to do what you do best."

"Get on people's nerves?" He guessed. I nodded.

"Exactly." I agreed. He grinned.

"Alright!" He exclaimed, starting to head over to them.

"No way." Dani stopped him. "I wanna fight Megahertz."

"Why?" I looked at her like she was crazy.

"Because! You got to meet your one true love, and Kaz got to save Tecton. I haven't done anything cool today, so I get to annoy the super villain."

"Dani-" Kaz tried, but she shook her head, smirking.

"Fair is fair, Kazzy." She replied before leaping over the counter and heading straight for Megahertz. He and Skylar continued to try and land a powerful blow, but none of Skylar's hits were doing much damage. At least she was fast enough, and flexible enough, to dodge his every punch.

Unfortunately, her speed and agility weren't enough to keep her from getting his by Megahertz's electricity blast. The blow from behind threw her mercilessly to the ground at Dani's feet.

"Ouch." My sister grimaced sympathetically, then looked at Megahertz, a look of determination on her face. She grabbed a metal tray off the nearest table and stood in front of Skylar, facing the supervillain. "Hey Leslie!"

Megahertz looked at her, surprised, and she smirked. "That's right; I know your real name." While she held up the tray so he could look into it, Kaz and I skirted around the edge of the room, sneaking past them. "Check out the ugliest half human, half titanium cyborg in the room."

"Oh come on! Nobody looks good in a metal tray!" Megahertz protested. Dani shrugged.

"I do." She commented, giving him a charming smile. I was a little surprised by the way she was acting – my sister may not be insecure, but I'd never seen her act this bold before – but I just shrugged it off, knowing it was mostly an act.

"And no one calls me ugly." Megahertz continued, a ball of electricity appearing in his hands. Dani gulped nervously, her mask of no fear cracking slightly.

"Guys, now!" She shouted, backing up slightly. I looked around for something to use against him, something that would at least get Megahertz's attention off of Dani, but all I could find was a bedpan. Nevertheless, I grabbed it and threw it as hard as he could towards Megahertz's head.

It hit the super villain on the side of head, perfectly on target, but Megahertz didn't so much as flinch. In fact, he seemed a little amused by it.

"Uh, you know, I-I meant ugly in a g-good way." Dani stammered as he got closer. She looked past him, focusing on Kaz. "Kaz, you're good with words. Help me out here!"

"Yeah!" Kaz scrambled to her side. He stepped towards Megahertz, nodding quickly. "You know, like 'yo playa', you so ugly'!"

"That's not a thing." Megahertz informed him.

"Oh." Kaz glanced at Dani, but instead of backing up, he stepped to the side a bit, closer to her.

"Say goodbye to your precious Tecton!" Megahertz proclaimed. He spun on his heel and stalked out of the room, electricity flying between his hands as he went.

"What do we do?" I demanded, running up to them.

"It-It's over." Dani replied solemnly. "He's going to destroy Tecton."

"And it's all my fault." Kaz added. Before either of us could object to that – and I was, I swear – the stained glass letter M on the wall shattered, Megahertz's body flying through it. From the hole flew Tecton, looking just as powerful and incredible as he did in the comics. He flew above our heads, hovering in the center of the room.

"And that's how you throw a villain through a logo." He declared, wiping his hands together.

"Whoa." Dani murmured, smiling in amazement.

Tecton smirked, having heard her comment, and dropped to the ground, landing in the classic kneeling pose with his fist punching the ground. He looked up in time to see Megahertz get up, ready for round two.

Megahertz shot a blast of electricity at Tecton, but the blonde haired superhero rolled out of harm's way. He stopped a few feet away from us, getting to his feet right away.

Megahertz's next blast hit Tecton in the shoulder and he hit the ground beside Skylar. Thankfully, while the blast knocked him clean off his feet, it didn't knock him out.

"Look out!" I shouted as Megahertz shot another blast. Tecton jumped to his feet, grabbing a metal pole from the ground beside him. He spun around in his hands with an expert's precision, using it to block every single shot Megahertz fired at him. Then, using the pole as a javelin, he threw it at his enemy with all his might. Megahertz used his electricity to stop the pole, levitating it in midair. Tecton didn't waste any time, though, and slammed him foot into the ground, the force so great that it created a kind of aftershock.

The aftershock knocked Megahertz to the ground, but it didn't keep him down. Not that Tecton was unprepared for that of course. Our favorite superhero leapt into the air the moment Megahertz began to get up, and he landed in front of him, grabbing him by the shoulders. They wrestled together for several moment, electricity flowing across both of them, and neither of them able to gain the advantage.

"We have to do something!" Dani insisted. I nodded.

"What we need to do is stop Megahertz, but how?" I demanded. Kaz grinned.

"Stop! That's it!" He exclaimed. Neither me nor my sister knew what he meant until he ran over to the garbage can, where someone had placed the stop sign. He pulled it out of the trash as the fighting between Tecton and Megahertz grew more intense, both super people landing solid punches against the other. "Tecton, here!" Kaz shouted, throwing the stop sign towards him.

Tecton caught it in one hand, the other one holding Megahertz still. Using his super speed, Tecton wrapped the stop sign around Tecton like a rope, successfully restraining him.

Megahertz tried to use his electricity to escape, but that only worked against him because the sign was made of metal. The rebounding force of his powers weakened him enough that he fell into unconsciousness.

"Yes!" Kaz grinned, seeing the incredible victory. Dani smirked and walked over to Megahertz.

"Not so tough now, are you, Leslie?" She teased. Megahertz sparked and twitched again, and she jumped back, grabbing me by the arm, as if she thought I could do something about it. "Still live, still live."

Tecton chuckled and picked Megahertz up by stop sign, carrying him with ease. He walked over to Kaz, and nodded to him gratefully.

"You saved my life." He acknowledged. "You should stick around. This place needs you."

"Thank you." Despite Kaz's best efforts, his voice rose a few octaves in his excitement. "Dang it." He muttered, having obviously been trying to act cool in front of his idol.

"Well, my work here is done." Tecton stated, looking at Megahertz.

"Actually, just one more thing." Horace stopped him before gesturing at the ceiling. "That bulb has been out for weeks. Would you mind?" He held out a light bulb.

"Yeah, yeah." Tecton sighed, taking the bulb. He shoved Megahertz into the hands of the waiting guards, then flew up to change the bulb.

"Ugh." I turned around to see Skylar starting to get up. She looked a little dazed, but otherwise uninjured.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked gently, helping her up.

"I'm fine." She replied.

"You were awesome back there." I told her. She smiled prettily at me.

"So were you." She complimented. I chuckled.

"Well, I do throw a mean bed pan." I joked, causing her smile to grow. Then I got a little more sincere. "Look…I know you don't like people helping you, I'm going to do everything I can to help you get your powers back."

"That would great." She replied. "Because this whole being a Normo thing totally stinks. I can't do anything!"

Then she proceeded to cartwheel out of the room. Benny walked past her, giving her a dirty look. "Show-off." He called her before heading out of the room himself.

I glanced at Kaz and Dani, who were both standing near the center of the room, watching Tecton change a lightbulb like it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"Hey." I greeted them, walking over. They turned to look at me. Kaz smiled apologetically at me, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Hey," He replied. He sighed. "Listen, about before. I'm sorry I almost got us fired and/or cubed. I messed up and you bailed me out, like you always do. Thanks."

I nodded slowly. "I'm sorry too. And you were right, I wouldn't be here without you." Dani cleared her throat meaningfully. "Without either of you." I corrected myself. "And I wouldn't want to be."

"Are you two done fighting?" My sister checked. We both nodded. "I think we need a Commerative photo, boys."

"Commerative bros again fake photo?" Kaz asked me. I nodded.

"Absolutely." I agreed. The three of us put our arms around each other and made faces at the fake camera in Kaz's hands.

"Splendid work today!" Horace exclaimed, walking over to us with a proud smile on his face. "Splendid. I'll see you three tomorrow after school."

"WHAT?" Alan objected. "What about the newscast? Everyone knows we have Normos here!"

"I don't care. Let the whole world know they work here!" Horace declared before turning to us. "Remember, you can't tell anyone you work here."

"Our lips are sealed." Dani assured him.

"This is not fair! This is not fair! This-" Horace froze Alan mid-temper tantrum, then began to lead us down one of the halls.

"Now," He said, ignoring his nephew completely, "let's go down to accounting and get you paid."

"Paid? Are you kidding?" I looked at him, surprised. "I would totally work here for nothing."

Dani quickly covered my mouth with her hand, giving me a pointed look, while Kaz addressed Horace. "He meant nothing less than a million dollars a week." Horace looked at Kaz. "A thousand dollars a week." Horace narrowed his eyes. "A hundred dollars a week."

"I was going to give you two hundred, but a hundred it is." The man smiled. Dani hit Kaz in the arm.

"Dude!" She complained, obviously wishing he'd gotten us more money. Horace smiled at us.

"So, how do you like your new scrubs?" He questioned.

"We're not in scrubs." Kaz pointed out. Horace smirked.

"You were." He replied, holding up a photograph of a bridge.

"That's a picture of a bridge." I pointed out.

Horace looked at it. "Huh. I LOVE BRIDGES." He reached back into his pocket. "Say 'we're not in scrubs' again."

"We're not in scrubs." Dani told him, bemused by this conversation.

"You were." Horace held up a different photograph, this one of the three of us. But instead of our normal clothes, we were wearing purple and mauve scrubs. The three of us grinned at the sight of it, because we actually looked pretty cool in them.

**Kaz's POV**

"Jordan is going to end us." Dani protested as we ran through the school hallway. "Seriously, is it a good idea to go in there?"

"You just finished trying to piss off Megahertz and you're afraid of Jordan?" I questioned. She nodded.

"Yes. Trust me – that girl is more lethal than half the super villains in the world." She insisted. But even though she was probably right about that, we still had to get back to school.

"Jordan, there you are!" Olive exclaimed as we ran into the classroom. She refused to look at us, her arms crossed. "Look, we're really sorry about not being here like we promised."

"We know you're upset, and you have every right to be." I acknowledged. "But I'm sure you're going to do fine on the project."

"Yeah, I mean, look what you're up against." Dani picked up a badly made toy robot off the teacher's desk, chuckling.

"That's ours." Gus pointed out.

"Oh mama." I grimaced. Then, I had an idea. "You know, I think I know how to make this better."

"Don't climb in it. I already tried that." Gus cautioned. I pulled the small black device out of my pocket.

"I took a little souvenir from Megahertz." I explained to Oliver and Dani.

"You took one of his power boosters?" Oliver sounded impressed as he watched me insert it into the robot. "Did you get him to sign it?"

"No, but I totally should have." I replied, stepping out of the way so Jordan could take the lead on this presentation.

"This is our project." She announced to the class. "We made it out of…who cares?"

Suddenly, the rocket began to spark, then suddenly it lifted off the table and flew around the room before crashing into a setoff breakers.

"Now that's a rowboat." Gus commented as the entire class looked at it in amazement. Needless to say, we were totally getting As on this project.

**Oliver's POV**

Since our shift at Mighty Med didn't start until 4, Kaz, Dani, and I had some time to kill after school, and Kaz had thought of the perfect way.

We walked into the Domain purposefully, Kaz grabbing the Meteorite of Zandor on his way up to the counter. "I would like to buy the Meteorite of Zandor." he announced, grinning at Wallace and Clyde.

"Okay, and just how are you able to afford such an incredibly rare artifact?" Wallace questioned as Clyde walked behind one of the displays.

"Yes, it's the only one of its kind in the world." Clyde agreed. Kaz pulled a wad of cash out of my pocket.

"I got this money from Mighty Med." He replied. Dani and I both froze, staring at him. He realized his mistake the moment the words came out of his mouth, but it was too late to take them back.

"Mighty Med? What's that?" Wallace asked.

"Umm…Mighty Med…he's the new rapper." I lied. "We're in his entourage."

"Yeah, he pays us to walk around and tell him how ugly he is." Kaz agreed.

"Is that a thing?" Wallace asked his brother.

"That is not a thing." Clyde replied.

"He's trying to make it a thing." Dani insisted. Kaz quickly paid for the meteorite, then backed away from the counter.

"Anyway, we gotta go." I told the store owners. "See ya later."

The moment we were outside the store, Dani and I turned on our best friend. "Kaz, what are you doing? You can't tell anyone about the hospital! You almost blew it!"

"Oh, they didn't catch on. Besides, it's just Wallace and Clyde." He shrugged. Suddenly, I noticed a tall blonde haired guy walking towards us. Kaz groaned, the both of us recognizing him instantly. "Look who it is."

"Barry!" I smiled at the guy. Dani spun around and smiled at the captain of the basketball team, brushing her hair out of her face. "I thought you were in Colorado."

"I was; we got back a few hours ago." Barry explained, already pulling Dani close to him. "And I couldn't wait to see my favorite girl."

Kaz rolled my eyes as he kissed Dani. While I personally didn't have an issue with Barry – so long as Dani was happy and safe, I didn't really care who she dated – but he'd never liked Barry all that much. I'd asked him about it before, but he'd always insisted that he just thought she could do better.

"How's your aunt?" Dani took his hand and smiled at him when he pulled away.

"She's good, and the trip was amazing. I want to tell you all about it. We could grab dinner?" He offered. Dani glanced sideways at us.

"Actually, I'm working tonight." She told him apologetically. He looked surprised.

"Really? I didn't know you had a job." He hummed in surprise. She nodded, thinking quickly.

"Yeah, I'm working at the hospital. As a candy striper." She lied. "Ollie and Kaz are interning there too."

"Oh, sounds fun. Think they have any positions open for me?" Barry asked. I was about to tell him no, seeing as we didn't really work at the hospital, but he laughed and shook his head. "I'm kidding, of course. I wouldn't have time for a regular job between all my basketball and baseball practices. But good for you, Dani."

"Thanks." She smiled brightly at him. "But how about we have dinner tomorrow? My mom's gonna be working, so we can make food at my place, if you'd prefer home cooked stuff."

"That sounds perfect." He replied. She beamed and lifted her head to kiss him again.

"Then I will see you tomorrow." She told him. He nodded at her, then at us.

"Alright. See you guys." He told us. Dani waved at him before following me and Kaz in the direction of the hospital.

"Candy striper?" I repeated, looking at her questioningly. My sister shrugged.

"Well, we have to go to the hospital to get to Mighty Med, and someone we know is bound to see us come or go eventually. At least if we say we work at the hospital as interns and a candy striper, then we have an excuse for when they catch us there." She replied. "Makes sense."

"You lied to him." Kaz noted. She gave him a look.

"Well, I can't exactly tell him the truth, now can I?" She questioned defensively. Kaz raised my hands in an I-surrender motion, not wanting to antagonize her.

"I'm just saying, it's not the greatest thing to do in a relationship." He commented. I snorted in amusement.

"And when have you dated a girl long enough to know what one of those are?" I asked. I was joking, of course, but what I said was true. None of us had ever really been experts at getting dates – not many girls really walked into The Domain, and the cheerleaders and preppy girls usually got more attention than the sporty and nerdy ones at our school – but whenever Kaz did get a girl to go out with him, it usually only lasted a few dates before he lost interest.

"I'm just saying." He finished. Dani narrowed her eyes at him, annoyed.

"What's your problem with him, anyway?" She inquired. "Seriously, you obviously don't like him."

"He's full of himself, he hates comics, and worst of all, he hates meat." Kaz insisted. That just confused her and me both.

"I'm a vegetarian." She reminded him, raising an eyebrow at that.

"Yeah, but you don't eat meat because you're an animal lover. He doesn't eat meat because he thinks it's disgusting." I reasoned. "I can get behind the animal thing, but steak is incredible. Anyone who hates it is insane."

"You're just mad because his team beat yours when you played Black Ops." Dani teased. Kaz rolled his eyes and shook his head, but she didn't care. "Now, come on. We have superheroes to help."

**Clyde's POV**

We watched Dani, Kaz, and Oliver leave, then I pulled my glasses off. I glared at them as they stood outside the shop, talking.

"Finally." I growled. "Our way into Mighty Med."

"And before long, all the weak superheroes," my other half continued.

"Will be dead superheroes." I finished.


	2. Frighty Med

**Dani's POV**

"Hey!" I called, walking into The Domain after soccer practice. The guys were already hanging out, Ollie playing a Wii game while Kaz fiddled with some of the action figures on display. "Sorry, practice ran late."

"Liar, you and Barry were making out under the bleachers and you lost track of the time, again." Ollie accused, not taking his eyes off the screen as he sliced and stabbed demons.

"True." I agreed, smirking. "Just didn't want to make you feel bad 'cause you can't get a girlfriend."

Kaz chuckled at that while Ollie merely frowned, too concentrated on the game to particularly care.

"Man, I'm getting really good at this!" My brother exclaimed as I sat down on the couch to watch them. "I should be a demon hunter in real life! That, or a high school teacher."

"Go with demon hunter; they deal with fewer demons." Kaz suggested. I nodded, agreeing with him. Besides, being a high school teacher would mean having to go to school every day, even though you were an adult.

"Here." Ollie tossed Kaz the Wii remote, just as both our phones buzzed.

"It's Dad." I told him, checking my own. "He wants to know where we are, again."

"Oh no." Ollie complained. Kaz glanced at us, confused.

"What's your dad doing back in town? I thought he moved to England after he and your mom divorced." He questioned, pausing the video game.

"He did; he's back in town on some sort of business trip, and he keeps wanting to know where we go after school every day." I explained. "And it's not like we can tell him about our job."

Kaz, meanwhile, had pulled on a creepy mask that had been sitting on one of the displays. I smirked, but rolled my eyes. "Kaz?"

"What? Do I have something on my face?" He asked, wiping his hand across the mask.

"This is serious." Ollie insisted. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Tell him that you're interning at the hospital, like Dani told Barry." He suggested.

"We tried that, but he didn't believe it. He's friends with one of the receptionists, and she told him that we don't work there. Or even volunteer there." I explained.

"Then tell him that you're hanging out here." Kaz said simply. Ollie and I looked at him.

"He doesn't want us coming here. He thinks that all this superhero stuff is a waste of time." Ollie reminded him.

"Oh, and like what he does is so important." Kaz scoffed.

"He's a brain trauma researcher." Ollie deadpanned.

"Just tell your dad you're hanging out at my house." Kaz sighed, going back to the game.

"We can't do that either; he doesn't want us hanging out with you." I told him. "He thinks you're reckless, out of control, and that you never take responsibility for your own actions."

"One time Oliver goes home with half his head shaved, and suddenly I'm reckless?" Kaz questioned, annoyed. "And I take responsibility for my actions."

Kaz turned back to the game and went to slice through another demon, but the Wii remote slid through his fingers and out of his hand. It flew right into the nearby display, knocking an action figure off the display. "Wasn't me! It was her!" Kaz shouted instantly, pointing directly at me.

"Dude!" I exclaimed, looking at him, then glancing at the other guys in the store. "Sup?" I called, noticing that they were looking at me.

Kaz grabbed the action figure off the ground. "Uh, oops." He commented, looking at the headless figure.

"The head's under the display." Ollie offered. Kaz picked up the head and the Wii remote, handing the latter to me before sitting down to try and fix it.

It took him a few minutes (during which I managed to kill 21 demons! New record!) but eventually he declared that he was done. "There. Brain Matter is good as new." He announced, examining his work.

"His head is on backwards." Ollie pointed out, amused.

"Then he's better than new. He now has the power to see his own butt." Kaz replied. Ollie and I both laughed at that, just as Gus and Jordan pushed into the room.

"Oliver, Kaz, Dani." Gus greeted. "Help us settle an argument. This snake looks poisonous, right?"

I heard him open the box behind me, but I was too focused on the videogame to actually look. "Sorry guys, a bit busy."

"Gus, there's nothing in there." Ollie said in a bored voice.

"Uh oh. This is terrible!" Gus exclaimed. "Now we'll never be able to settle our argument."

"Gus, we're not having an argument." Jordan insisted. "You're talking to yourself, and I'm listening to a book on tape."

I grinned as the screen in front of me turned purple, a list of high scores appearing in green letters. "Ha! Take that, Ollie-pop!" I sang, spinning around to smirk at my brother. "I beat your high score by seven hundred points!"

"Give me that." My brother took the remote from me, ready to try (and fail) to take back his championship title.

"Hey, I wonder why they stopped making Brain Matter comic books and movies…" Kaz hummed thoughtfully, looking at the action figure. He stood up. "There hasn't been one in years."

My brother and I shared a knowing look, having seen this happen many times before. But while I was excited, Ollie was apprehensive. "Oh no. I know that look." Ollie said. "You're going to search obsessively for the answer to a totally unimportant question."

"Even if it means abandoning your school work, your friends, and your already shaky commitment to showering." I agreed.

"Okay, A," Kaz turned to Ollie, "everyone's already trying to answer the important questions, and B," he turned to me, "I showered on Tuesday." I raised an eyebrow at that, and he smiled. "A week ago Tuesday."

"I remember that Tuesday." Gus mentioned. "You smelled great that day."

Suddenly, my phone vibrated again, as did Ollie's. We didn't even have to look to know it was our father.

"Excuse us for a second." I pulled Kaz and Ollie off to the side.

"Dad just texted us 'where are you?'. Maybe we should just come clean and tell him about…" Ollie glanced at Jordan and Gus, who were preoccupied with the videogame "…the thing."

"And if Horace finds out, we get cubed. And I don't know about you, Ollie, but I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking like a Rubik's cube!" I snapped irritably.

"Okay, here's what you do." Kaz told us, trying to stop an argument before it started. "You make up an afterschool activity, something that sounds productive so he'll get off your case, but so boring that he won't ask for details."

We both considered it. "That's a good idea, Kaz." I commented. Ollie nodded.

"Yeah, where'd you come up with it?" He questioned.

"In alibi club." Kaz replied. "Oh, and if anybody asks, that's where I am right now."

"…Okay." I shrugged, deciding to go with it. We headed back over to Gus and Jordan.

"Help settle another argument." Gus requested. "How many times a year does the average person go to the bathroom? I say six."

**Oliver's POV**

"Thanks for dinner, dad." Dani commented, digging into her broccoli quinoa casserole. Whenever he was in town, which wasn't very often, he'd take us to his favorite restaurant for dinner. Mom wasn't a big fan of it – she was a little possessive of us – but Dani and I generally enjoyed the evenings out.

"So, how soccer going, Dani?" Dad asked, cutting his lasagna into pieces. "Your team winning a lot?"

"We win some, we lose some." Dani shrugged. "Coach Rombough still wants to do some more tryouts, since we're missing a couple of offense."

"What about you, Oliver? You in any sports? Clubs?" He looked at me.

"Yes. Dani and I are both in…the school play." I lied. Dani narrowed her eyes at me, but went along with it.

"Yeah. We're in the drama club." She agreed.

"What play?" Despite the fact that our father despised the theatre, he seemed genuinely curious.

"Um…" Damn, I should have thought this through a bit more. "Uh…ah…"

"What kind of play is called 'Um Uh Ah'?" He questioned, misinterpreting my stuttered reply.

"It's about Frankenstein, but the monster says his name 'Um Oh Ah'." Dani didn't miss a beat, instead lying so casually that if I didn't know better, I wouldn't have doubted her.

"Don't you think Frankenstein is extremely played out?" Dad questioned.

"I suppose." Dani shrugged. She looked at me. "Hey, you going to finish your coleslaw?"

"Take it." I slid the tiny bowl towards her, the only thing remaining on my plate being my burger.

"Seriously though, why would a bunch of high school kids want to go see that?" Dad continued.

"It's an updated version." I lied. "One that's set in the White House."

"Oh." Dad was surprised. "That actually sounds good; I'd like to see it."

"What?" We both stared at him.

"I'd like to see it." He repeated himself calmly. "When's the next performance?"

"Um…Friday?" I looked at Dani, slightly panicked. This wasn't how this was supposed to go.

"Wonderful. I'll be there." Dad promised us. Dani and I exchanged looks, thinking the exact same thing: what did we get ourselves into?

**Dani's POV**

While Ollie went to go tell Kaz about our problem, I headed over to the main desk and began to check through files, seeing if there was anything interesting to do today.

"Oh, hey Dani." Skylar greeted, walking over to me. I nodded in greeting, while scanning through a report. "What's wrong with Oliver?"

I glanced over my shoulder to see him freaking out in front of Kaz. "Kaz gave us some advice that totally backfired, and he's freaking out." I replied. Skylar raised an eyebrow. "Okay, long story short, on Friday, my dad wants to go see a play that doesn't exist because Ollie and I told him we've been doing that after school instead of coming here. And now Ollie's worried we're going to get caught in our lie."

"Well, when you're caught in a lie, there's only one thing you to do, really." Skylar offered.

"Pile an even bigger lie on top of the first lie?" I guessed. She looked at me.

"No, tell the truth." She stated, acting as if that should have been the obvious answer. I shrugged.

"Nah, not my style." I replied. "So anyway, Ollie and I now have to write and produce an entire school play by Friday. Which pretty much means we'll have to get Horace to give us the rest of the week off."

"Wait," Skylar chuckled lightly, "So you're telling me that you can't work at Mighty Med so your dad doesn't find out that you work at Mighty Med."

"It's pretty funny when you think about it." I agreed.

"No, it's not!" Ollie called across the room.

"It's pretty funny when I think about it." Kaz commented, coming to my defense. Ollie gave him an annoyed look, and rolled his eyes, then looked at me.

"What are we going to do?" He questioned. I shrugged.

"Simple. We'll work today's shift, then ask Horace for a few days off. Since I have better marks in English than you, I'll write the play. You do some auditions afterschool, try to get someone involved and helping out. It'll be fine." I assured him.

"I hope you're right." He muttered.

"When am I not?" I asked in response. He opened his mouth to reply, but I silenced him quickly. "Don't answer that."

I turned back to Skylar. "So, what about you? What are you doing today?"

"I've got some physical therapy with Horace, yay." Skylar rolled her eyes, sarcasm dripping from her tone. "And then…nothing. It's not like I know anyone around here, and I can't exactly fly home either."

"That sucks." I smiled apologetically. She nodded, then headed down the hall towards the rec room. I quickly slipped into my lab coat, grabbed a clipboard, then walked over to one of the patients, ready for another day at work.

**Kaz's POV**

After Oliver and Dani left, I was free to continue my search for Brain Matter without the judgment of my two best friends. For my first step, I decided to ask Horace, seeing as he would at least have medical knowledge on the superhero. Perhaps he knew what had happened.

I walked into the rec room, remembering that Skylar had mentioned something about physical therapy earlier. Sure enough, both she and Horace were in the room, in the back where the gunfire simulator was.

"Horace, I've got a question for you." I announced, walking in.

"Is it important?" He questioned, walking up to me.

"Probably not." I admitted. He smiled.

"Then you have my full attention." He told me, delighted by my response. "Hardly anyone is asking the really unimportant questions these days."

"I know!" About time someone agreed with me. I took a seat in one of the armchairs, and he sat on the couch across from me. "Hey, anyway, since comic books are based off of real superheroes, I was wondering why there aren't any more stories about Brain Matter."

He froze, just as dark, threatening music began to play, and a woman's scream filled the air.

"Sorry, that was my phone." Skylar apologized when the sound stopped. "I was just changing the ringtone."

"Why do you have a phone?" I asked, surprised. "You've been on this planet for, like, a week. You don't know anybody."

"That's why I got the 'no friends and no family' plan." She replied before looking back towards the screen. I shrugged and turned back to Horace.

"So, what happened to Brain Matter?" I inquired.

Again, Horace reacted very strangely at the sound of Brain Matter's name, this time gasping. Horror music began to play again, though I assumed it was Skylar's phone.

"Why do you keep going that every time I say Brain Matter?" I questioned. He once again gasped, but didn't say anything else. "Oh, you're hiding something, and not very well."

I moved to sit on the table between the two seats, closing the distance between us.

"Stop meddling!" Horace snapped, standing up. He handed me a sheet. "I have some important work for you to do."

"Change light bulbs, clear away cobwebs." I read before looking up at Horace accusingly. "This is just busy work."

"No, it isn't." Horace lied. I stared at him.

"The title of the list is 'Busy Work for Oliver'!" I called, even as Horace raced from the room. "At least give me the right list!"

I sighed, shaking my head. "Something weird's going on here." I said, walking over to Skylar, who was jumping rope in the corner. "Something scary and weird, and I'm going to find out what that big secret is."

"Can I help?" Skylar requested, dropping her jump ropes. "I'm going nuts sitting around here, waiting for my powers to return. I'm so desperate, I'm willing to voluntarily spend time with you."

"You know, that's not the first time I've heard that, and I'm not insulted." I admitted before nodding. "Sure, you can help, but be careful; it could be dangerous."

I turned to leave, just to come face to face with Horace's annoying nephew, Alan. "Ah!" I shouted, surprised that he'd gotten so close without me noticing.

"Hello?" Skylar answered her phone, obviously thinking that my scream had been her ringtone. "Huh." She put the phone away. "No one there."

"You're right, there is a secret, and it's the most amazing secret ever." Alan told me, having eavesdropped on the entire conversation. "And I could tell you what it is, but I never will!"

"Is it that nobody likes you?" I guessed.

"Ha! That's not a secret." Alan snapped. I rolled my eyes and jerked my head towards the door, motioning for Skylar to follow me. Alan was obviously a little insulted that we left rather than start an argument with him, but he just really wasn't worth the time.

**Oliver's POV**

Now, since no one showed up at the auditions (and I do mean no one) and Dani was in Study Hall, trying to write a half-decent play with a ridiculous theme, I decided to go find the two people I knew I could convince to help us out.

"Jordan, Gus!" I exclaimed, catching sight of them over by Jordan's locker. "Dani and I need a favor. You have to help us put on a play by tomorrow."

"Why?" Jordan asked.

"So our dad doesn't keep asking me where I go after school every day." I replied quickly, praying they'd say yes.

"Where do you go after school every day?" Jordan asked.

"I have got to start preparing for follow-up questions." I muttered. Suddenly, my phone vibrated. I quickly checked it to see who it was from.

**Text From: Dani**

**B's on board to help with the play, but if he asks, we work at Subway after school :)**

Maybe it was luck, maybe it was a coincidence, or maybe it was the twin telepathy Kaz swore we had, but it didn't matter: Dani had just given me the perfect lie to answer Jordan's question with.

"We have a job at Subway, making sandwiches." I told them. "But we have to keep it a secret from our dad."

"Why wouldn't you want your father to know you make sandwiches?" Gus questioned incredulously.

"He hates sandwiches, okay?" I exclaimed, trying to pretend I was overly emotional about this. "He hates sandwiches, and Dani and I love them, and it's tearing our family apart!"

They just stared at me. "Now, will you help us put on this play, or not?"

"Absolutely." Jordan agreed. "But only because I'm sure it'll be terrible, and there's nothing more delightful than watching a couple of friends fail."

"Then why don't you like me more?" Gus asked, offended.

"I said watching a FRIEND fail." Jordan insisted.

"Fair enough." Gus agreed. He looked at me. "I'll do it too but only if you bring free sandwiches, and hold the mayo."

"Fine." It wouldn't be that hard to go pick up a sandwich platter from the store before we started working on the play.

"No, seriously." Gus slipped off his backpack and pulled a large, industrial-sized jar of mayonnaise out. He handed it to me. "Hold the mayo."

I stared at it, confused. "Why…"

"Thank you. This backpack's so much lighter with only one jar of mayo in it." He patted my shoulder and both he and Jordan left, leaving me standing in the middle of the hall with a massive jar of mayonnaise in my hands.

"Uh, nice mayo, Oliver." I turned to see Barry looking at me, clearly judging me.

"Gus…" Barry stopped me after that one word.

"Say no more. He handed me an entire jar of ketchup last week that was at least the same size as that one, if not bigger." He told me. I nodded, not even surprised. "So, Dani gave me the gist of what's going on. But I don't get it – how did you guys get fired from volunteering at the hospital?"

"It was Kaz's fault." I lied. Barry nodded thoughtfully.

"Figured. Dani likes him and all, but he's going to get you guys in some serious trouble one of these days." He commented. I frowned, but didn't disagree with him, since he was probably right. "So, I'd love to help with the play, except I suck at drama."

"We could an usher." I suggested, shrugging. He nodded.

"Cool. Sounds fun." He agreed. "Now, Dani mentioned free sandwiches?"

**Dani's POV**

"Frankenstein, Frankenstein…White House…" I stared at my blank sheet of paper in frustration. Usually, I was a good story teller. I liked stories, I liked plays, and I liked writing (don't ever tell Ollie or Kaz, I will be endlessly mocked, I swear). But I was coming up blank, unable to think of a single thing to write. Perfect timing, I supposed, the one time my love of the English language would come in handy, and I was stuck.

"Hello?" The sound of a heavy, foreign accent drew me from my thoughts. A tall girl with fiery red hair walked into the room, clutching a yellow piece of paper in her right hand. She was wearing a light green skirt and a white blouse, a white purse hanging from her shoulder. "Is this the room for History 101?"

"Yeah, but class doesn't start for another twenty minutes." I replied, tossing down my pencil in frustration. "You new? I haven't seen you before."

"Yeah, I just moved here." The girl replied, sitting down in the desk in front of me and twisting around so we could chat easier. "My dad got posted here."

"From Ireland?" I guessed, recognizing her accent. She nodded. "Huh, I thought the whole red-headed Irish girl thing was a stereotype."

"Well, we're not ALL red-heads." She laughed lightly. "But my parents are, so I am too. The name's Alivia, by the way. Alivia McLean."

"Dani Short." I shook her hand. She glanced at my piece of paper.

"Late homework?" She guessed.

"Trying to write a play." I admitted. She frowned, confused.

"Why?" She sounded baffled. I sighed.

"Long story short, my brother and I lied to our dad, and now we're just trying to get away with it before he finds out."

"…Need some help?" Alivia offered. I looked at her, surprised.

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I like the dramatic arts." She admitted. "I'm not an actor or anything, but I used to help backstage at my old school. We could work together on this."

"Okay, cool." I replied. "What kind of plays?"

"Couple of dramas, Romeo and Juliet, and a couple of self-written ones. Did one about the superhero Clone Master last year." She replied with a shrug. I grinned.

"Clone Master? As in the Irish superhero with the ability to duplicate himself?" I asked. She nodded, smiling. "You're into comic books?"

"Of course." She agreed. "Clone Master is my favorite."

"I'm more of a Tecton girl myself, but CM's pretty cool." I'd actually met the guy this morning, since he was coming into to deal with a few broken ribs. He was pretty funny, to be honest, and a little charming if I might add. "Doesn't he have a sidekick?"

"Geminus." Alivia nodded. I smiled – even though I'd never met the young superheroine, it was pretty cool that there were teenaged superheroes out there.

"She seems cool too." I mentioned. Alivia smiled.

"So, what's this play about, anyway?" She asked, leaning forward. I smiled, glad that I'd found another girl who was into comic like me. The only other one I knew was Jordan, and she preferred RPGs and video games to actual comic books. And as much as I loved debating superheroes with the guys, I knew it was going to be a lot more fun doing so with another girl.

**Kaz's POV**

"Hey!" I called, storming into the rec room, where Horace was working with one of the superheroes. "Skylar and I have looked files for information about Brain Matter, and we found this."

I handed him a file, then crossed my arms. "Brain Matter checked into the hospital years ago, but never checked out." Skylar exclaimed.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Horace lied. I glared at him, hating that he was acting like we were stupid.

"If you don't tell me what it is, I will…" I thought of the worst thing I could possibly imagine, "…Start beat boxing right now."

"He's just crazy enough to do it." Skylar warned. Horace just looked at us, so I followed through with my threat, immediately beginning to beat box.

"Okay! Okay, stop! I'll tell you!" Horace shouted after a couple of seconds. "The tale of Brain Matter is dark and macaw-re. Because of him, something monstrous is hidden behind some door in Mighty Med. Whatever you do, do not open that door. It is the Door of Doom!" He exclaimed before continuing in a more cheerful voice, "Now, we're having problems with the locks, so I need you to open every door in Mighty Med."

"But what about the Door of Doom?" I protested as he started to walk away.

"Do not open the Door of Doom!" Horace insisted.

"But how will we know which door it is?" Skylar demanded.

"I've said too much!" Horace hissed in a low whisper before fleeing the room.

"Actually, you haven't!" I shouted after him, but he either didn't hear me, or purposefully ignored me. Either one was possible. I looked at Skylar, who shook her head helplessly.

"So I guess we just choose a door and hope for the best?" I suggested and, not having a better idea, Skylar agreed.

**Oliver's POV**

It only took us a few hours to set up the stage for the play, complete with a large window, a presidential desk, a portable white door, and a table for our monster to be born on.

Barry was currently setting up the sounds and lighting, Dani's new friend Alivia was going over details of the production with the principal (who was surprising cool with us doing an impromptu school play), Dani herself was fiddling with one of the displays to make sure it didn't fall during the performance, Jordan was going over the script, and Gus was waiting for me at the center of the stage.

"Thanks for helping us, guys." I commented, placing the two platters of sandwiches on the table. "Gus, Barry, here are the sandwiches you guys asked for. The ones on the left are Veggie Delights, and the ones on the right are BLTs."

"Those sandwiches were free, by the way." Dani added. I nodded.

"Yeah. They totally weren't 5.99 each because we work at Subway." I agreed. Both guys immediately went for the food, but while Barry seemed totally satisfied with his payment, Gus was not.

"Gross. I don't want these." Gus wrinkled his nose in disgust. "There's mayo on them."

"You carry around gallons of mayo." Dani pointed out, staring at him.

"Not to eat." Gus insisted.

"Then what do you…" Barry changed his mind mid-sentence. "Actually, I probably don't want to know."

"You really don't." Gus agreed.

"I have a comment about the script." Jordan announced as Alivia walked back up to the stage. "There's a point where watching your friends fail is no longer delightful, and instead just becomes…FANTASTIC!"

"You don't like the script." Dani noted, sighing. Jordan beamed.

"Oh, let me congratulate you on how truly awful this script is." She agreed.

"It's the subject matter that's the problem." Alivia insisted. "Whose stupid idea was it to put Frankenstein in de White House?"

Dani coughed loudly, slipping a quick "Oliver's!" between the fake coughs. I sent my sister an annoyed glare, to which she responded with an innocent smile. "Besides, it doesn't have to be good. It just has to convince our father that it's an actual play."

"And it's not even that bad." I mean, it was hardly Dani's best work, but it wasn't the worst I'd ever seen either. My sister smiled at me before looking at everyone else.

"Now, in the first scene, Oliver, AKA President Frankenstein, will bring Gus, his hideous vice-president creature, to life."

"Now, I want the atmosphere to be scary." I directed.

"You want scary?" Gus questioned. "Two words: use dry ice to make fog."

Dani frowned. "It is scary that you think that was two words."

"But I would love fog all over the stage." I agreed. "Good idea, Gus."

"Done," Gus nodded, "I know a guy – let's call him 'Louie' – who can get dry ice."

"Everybody knows a guy who can get dry ice." Jordan pointed out.

"Anyone can get it." Barry agreed.

"Nu-uh." Gus shook his head. "I know a guy – let's call him 'Ira' – who can't get dry ice. But since we need dry ice, I will not be calling Ira today."

Alivia watched this all with a skeptical gaze. "The people at me old school were never this strange."

**Kaz's POV**

Skylar and I creeped through the halls, now paranoid of opening the wrong door and discovering what was behind the Door of Doom.

"I'm so conflicted!" I sighed. "I'm dying to find out what happened to Brain Matter, but I don't want to die finding out what happened to Brain Matter."

"What if we open the Door of Doom?" Skylar worried. Suddenly, the lights in the hallway went out, leaving us a in dark hallway. The only light we could see came from emergency exit signs, casting a red glow across the small hallway.

"I wish I would have done item one on Horace's list." I muttered, half to myself. "Change the light bulbs."

We came across the first door, then hesitated. For all we knew, this was the Door of Doom.

I gripped the door knob tightly and slowly turned it, pushing the creaky door open. When I saw what was inside, I shouted in surprise and leapt back, staring at the two ghoul-like girls.

"Oh relax. They're just selling Super Scout Cookies." Skylar rolled her eyes at me, then smiled at the girls. "I'll take two boxes of Mutant Mints."

The girls pulled out two boxes of cookies, but I wasn't sure if I really wanted any. "Those don't have coconut in them, right? Because I hate coconut."

Instead of responding, the two little monsters hissed at me, much to Skylar's amusement.

After buying her cookies, Skylar followed me the second door. I opened this one slowly at first, then all at once. Skylar and I both screamed when we saw what was inside, because seriously, who doesn't scream when they see an old man (even if it's an old superhero man) getting a sponge bath.

By time we reached door number three, Skylar was a little bored, while I was even more nervous. There couldn't be many doors left in the hospital, could there? This was the last hallway we'd checked, so this had to be it, right?

"It's the only door we haven't opened." I commented, gulping nervously. "It's gotta be the Door of Doom.'

"Stop being such a baby." Skylar snapped, obviously impatient. She pushed past me and threw open the door, only to scream in horror when she saw Alan clipping his disgusting, yellow and long toenails. "My eyes!"

"Hey!" Alan shouted, jumping to his feet. "A little privacy, please?" He then slammed the door in our faces, leaving me and Skylar wondering which door could possibly be the Door of Doom.

**Dani's POV**

Mostly thanks to Barry, we managed to get a full house. The crowd was filled with people who'd come to see our badly written (and probably badly acted) play, making it look more authentic. There was no way my dad wouldn't believe us, so long as we got through the night without any problems.

I watched from backstage, giving directions to the actors and Alivia, who was working the sound and lights systems. Ollie was sitting in a large armchair behind the desk, facing towards the back of the stage, while Gus, wearing a suit and skin painted green, lay on a table. Jordan was kneeling next to the table, looking a little bored, if I was to be honest.

As the curtains back, the sound of organs playing loudly before going quiet, I nodded at my brother to give him his queue. He spun around slowly in his chair, facing the audience.

"They called me 'mad' when I created a monster who would have tie-breaking vote in the senate." He proclaimed, getting up and walking towards Gus. "Now, before being one heartbeat away from presidency, I must give it…" Jordan handed him some fake defibrillator paddles that we got from the health room. "A heart beat!"

He was supposed to press them down on Gus' chest, act like a shock was produced, then Gus would come to life. However, Gus' phone beeped loudly and he sat up, checking his texts.

"Gus!" I hissed, glaring at him. What was he doing?

"I've gotta go." I heard him tell Ollie, though. "My dad has a meeting and he needs his suit back."

"Um, we can't do the play without you." Ollie hissed, forcing a smile onto his face for the crowd. "The monster's in every scene."

"Sorry."

Ollie glanced at the crowd, then at me, as if I had any suggestions. The problem was, Ollie was usually the one getting us out of trouble, not the other way around.

"Try impov!" Barry half-shouted, half-whispered. It was loud enough that Ollie could clearly hear him, though none of the audience could. "People love improv!"

"People hate improv." I pointed out.

"I know; it's the worst." He agreed as Jordan snuck backstage with us.

"This is great!" She beamed at us. I looked at my brother.

"Improv!" I instructed. He gave me a look that told me he wasn't particularly happy with the idea, but didn't bother arguing with me. He turned back to crowd with a fake smile.

"My monster! I-It's alive!" He exclaimed before gesturing in the direction Gus had fled in. "And has to run some errands."

**Kaz's POV**

I sighed as we walked into the rec room, a little disappointed that we didn't find the Door of Doom. Even though I was terrified to find out what was behind it, it was the kind of fear that was exhilarating.

"Well, we opened every door in the hospital." I commented, walking over to the fridge. "No Door of Doom, and no Brain Matter."

"Maybe Horace was just testing us. Maybe there is no Door of Doom." Skylar suggested as I looked for something to snack on. I looked inside, then screamed when I saw the empty box of frozen treats.

"What's wrong?" Skylar demanded.

"We're out of tofu-pops!" I exclaimed, snatching the box off the top shelf. "Dani must have taken the last one and not replaced the box."

I looked back in the freezer, hoping to find something else that was tasty to eat. Instead, I saw a Brain Matter action figure, sitting just behind where the tofu-pops had been. "That's weird. Who put a Brain Matter figurine in the freezer?"

I reached inside to pull it out, and was surprised that it weighed a ton, as if it were made of something aside from plastic. "Oh, wow. This thing's really heavy." I commented, placing it on the floor.

The moment I put it down, the figure began to glow and shake.

"Why's it glowing?" Skylar demanded, backing up. I followed her lead, thinking that it probably wasn't a good idea to be near that thing right now. "What's going on?"

The figurine grew until it was the size and shape of a fully grown man. In fact, it was a fully grown man. Holy crap, it was Brain Matter.

"I don't believe this. You're the real Brain Matter!" I exclaimed, grinning. "What happened to you?"

"The last thing I remember…" The curly haired scientist thought, trying to remember. "I was conducting an experiment on myself. Something went terribly wrong, but I can't remember what!"

He gasped suddenly, falling to the floor, his body shaking. He pulled off his lab coat, and suspenders as his body began to grow and morph. In a matter of seconds, he's done from a 6 foot nerd to an 8 foot, purple monster.

"Now I remember!" He bellowed, his voice echoing. Skylar and I raced towards the door as he rampaged through the room, breaking everything in sight.

"What did you do?" Horace demanded, pushing his way into the room. "I told you not to open the Door of Doom!"

"Why didn't you just tell me not to open the freezer?" I demanded.

"Because I know you!" He retorted. "If I said 'Kaz, don't open the freezer' the first thing you'd do is open the freezer."

"I opened it anyway!" I shouted, exasperated, just before Brain Matter…or whatever that monster was…destroyed another piece of exercise equipment.

"Uh, guys? He can pulverize things." Skylar pointed out the obvious.

"Everyone up here, quick!" Horace ordered, leaping onto the training simulator area. "Huddle together!" He pushed us directly behind him before raising his hands. "Force field, activate!"

A light blue force field appeared around us, successfully protecting us.

"What happened?" I demanded, stunned. "Brain Matter was a hero! How'd he become this monster?"

"You're like a dog with a bone. Just let it go." Horace advised. I looked at him.

"Alright, if that's the way you want it." I told him before beginning to beat box.

"Okay, okay fine." Horace whimpered. "I'll tell you. "Brain Matter was a brilliant scientist and crime fighter who invented his own weapons. Miracles of technology that made him a hero to reckoned with. But Brain Matter grew envious of superheroes who didn't have to rely on weapons. So he developed a serum that would give him his own superpowers." He explained. "I'd heard the rumors, so I went to investigate, but I was too late."

"When did this happen? I think heard something about that." Skylar mentioned thoughtfully.

"About five years ago." He replied before continuing on with his story. "Brain Matter made a miscalculation with the serum, and turned into a hideous, violent beast, with an insatiable appetite for human brains. By freezing the monster, we were able to neutralize and shrink him. We stored him here until we could develop a cure."

"If he is so dangerous, why would you keep him in a regular freezer?" Skylar questioned.

"He was hidden behind the tofu-pops. Who would eat a tofu-pop?" He questioned, looking at me pointedly. I raised my hands in defense.

"Hey, don't blame me. Dani's the one who got me hooked." I informed him as Brain Matter slammed his fists against the force field, making it shake violently.

"The force field is stretched too thin, trying to protect all of us." Horace realized, stepping back a bit from the edge of the force field.

"We need to figure out a way to freeze him." Skylar exclaimed, looking at Horace. "Do you have some kind of freezing chamber in this hospital?"

"Do we have some kind of freezing chamber in this hospital?" Horace said mockingly before turning serious once again. "No, but we have a freezing ray in the E.R."

"Alright, let me think." I quickly came up with an idea. "Oh! I got it. Okay, Horace, let me out, and I will lure him to the freezing ray."

"He'll rip you apart. I can't let you do that." Horace denied it.

"Let him. Let him!" Alan pleaded with his uncle.

"Kaz, are you sure about this?" Horace questioned.

"I'm never sure of anything I do, why would I start now?" I responded with. Horace nodded and opened up a small door in the force field, just big enough for me to get out through.

"Wait!" Skylar stopped me just before I could leave. "What are you going to do?"

"When Brain Matter worked in his lab, he always listened to Mozart, and he hated to be disturbed." I told her. "The one thing that disturbed him the most was…"

I stepped outside the force field and looked at Brain Matter. "Hey! Brain Matter!" I got his attention before I began to beat box as loudly as I could. It roared loudly, and I knew I should probably run. I raced past him, heading straight for the ER.

Nurses and orderlies fled the room quickly, while I ran around the desk in the middle of the room, the monster not far behind me. Horace skirted around the edge of the room, towards a metal trolley full of tools and gadgets.

"Horace! Is the freezing ray ready?" I demanded as I circled the desks, trying to avoid getting pulverized.

"Oh no! We're out of dry ice!" Horace shouted.

"Help! Do something!" I demanded, backing away as Brain Matter advanced on me. Horace tried to freeze him the way he froze Alan when we first met, but apparently, Brain Matter was too strong for it to work. The monster spun around, sending the force back at Horace. It hit him clean off his feet and knocked him to the ground.

Brain Matter turned back to me, narrowing his eyes at my head. "Don't eat my brains." I begged. "Okay, I'm sorry about beat boxing, but…do you want to hear some Mozart?"

To my surprise, he nodded. I guess monster Brain Matter liked Mozart as much as regular Brain Matter. But unfortunately, I was out of luck.

"I don't know any Mozart." I admitted before tearing out the secret entrance to Mighty Med. Brain Matter followed me, only a few feet behind me as I tried to figure out where to go.

**Oliver's POV**

"Okay, so for my next improv…" I thought quickly. "I am an astronaut in a sporting goods store, acting in the style of Shakespeare."

I could see my friends from behind the curtain. Barry was shaking his head, giving me a sympathetic look, while Dani was struggling to hold in her laughter. Jordan wasn't even pretending to hide her amusement, bent over and laughing gleefully. Alivia kept looking like she wanted to help, but didn't know how.

Thankfully, Gus ran back onto the stage in the middle of my act, now wearing a woman's red suit. "I had to give my dad his suit back." He explained. "But I got one from my mom."

I looked at him, and decided that I should just go with it. "At last! My monster has returned." I proclaimed, acting as if it were all part of the scene. But before I could say anymore lines, Kaz ran out from the opposite side of the stage, breathing heavy as if he'd been running a long time.

"Kaz, what are you doing here?" Dani demanded, once again taking this seriously. "We're in the middle of a play!"

"Monster. Beat boxing. Mozart!" He panted, trying to regain his breath.

"He already did that improv." Jordan chuckled, wiping tears of joy from her eyes.

"Chased me. All the way from…" He lowered his voice, so only I could hear the last bit, "…from Mighty Med. Lost him."

Apparently, he didn't lose him, though, as a tall, purple, humanoid monster rampaged onto the stage, roaring. "Ah! Didn't lose him!" Kaz shouted, jumping at the sound of the monsters' roar.

Dani ran onto the stage, not even caring about the audience. "What is going on?" She demanded.

"That's Brain Matter." Kaz quickly explained. Dani looked at him.

"You found him?" She questioned. He nodded. "Okay, see this? This is why people don't ask the unimportant questions. It ends with big purple monsters!"

"He accidently turned himself into a brain-eating monster." Kaz informed us as Brain Matter destroyed the presidential desk.

"We have to do something." I decided, watching him. Barry and Jordan were still watching from behind the curtains, but Alivia had stepped closer to the main part of the stage. She wasn't quite visible from the audience, but she was getting closer, as if she wanted to help us.

"The only way to stop him is to freeze him." Kaz told us. Dani looked behind her at the coffin full of dry ice.

"What about dry ice? Can we push him in there?" She questioned.

"Good idea!" I agreed. "And I think I know how to do it."

"The love of Brain Matter's life was his lab assistant, the brilliant but homely, Colleen MacKenzie." I reminded the two of them. They both nodded.

"That's right! He's been searching for her ever since she disappeared on a foggy night." Dani remembered.

"We need a Colleen MacKenzie!" I exclaimed.

"Jordan!" Kaz exclaimed, pointing at her. One look told us we were wrong.

"Not homely enough." I decided.

"Well, it can't be Dani, or the red, over there." Kaz waved his hand in Alivia's direction. "They wouldn't be believable."

"I'm taking that as a compliment." Dani decided. "What about Gus?"

"Gus works." I agreed. Alivia looked at us.

"What's going on?" She demanded.

"Ooh, Irish." Kaz smirked, clearly liking her. Dani rolled her eyes.

"It's all part of the play. Just roll with it." She lied before looking at Gus. "Gus, go stand by the coffin."

"If I had a dollar for every time I heard that…" He shook his head, but went to stand right next to the coffin.

"Oh no. The monster has Jordan." Kaz exclaimed. We turned to see Brain Matter holding Jordan above the ground, while she laughed.

"This play just keeps getting worse and worse. This is the best day ever." She giggled.

"Hey, Brain Matter!" Kaz shouted, getting his attention. "Look! Look! Hey, it's Colleen. She's returned to you."

The monster dropped Jordan, staring at Gus. If this were a cartoon, there'd be hearts in his eyes, judging by the way he seemed to completely and totally focus on him. Brain Matter slowly walked towards Gus, who was completely confused as to why the monster was looking at him like that.

The moment Brain Matter was close enough, Dani, Kaz, and I ran forward, hitting him from behind. Brain Matter fell in and we quickly slid the top of the coffin into place as a green light filtered through the cracks. After a few seconds, the light died away and Dani slowly lifted the lid, peering inside.

"It worked." She sighed in relief before high-fiving me and Kaz. The crowd burst into applause, clearly thinking it was part of the play, and we decided to roll with it.

Barry, Jordan, Alivia, Gus, Kaz, Dani, and I walked to the center of the stage, bowing to our audience.

"So, does this monster guy go to our school?" Jordan asked after a moment. "Because he's totally my type."

"Uh…no. He was…" Dani tried to think of an explanation.

"Jeffrey, from Subway." I lied.

"And he has a girlfriend." Kaz added, coming up for an excuse as to why she wouldn't be allowed to date him.

**Kaz's POV**

"Hey." I greeted Oliver and Dani at the bottom of the stairs in the lobby of the school. Oliver, who was still in his outfit for the play, was carrying a cooler, while Dani was searching through her bag.

"So, turns out our dad never even showed up." Oliver complained.

"Typical." Dani muttered, still looking through her bag for something. "We worked for minutes and minutes on that play!"

"He probably had to work late again." Oliver reasoned.

"Huh, that's what he said. He just called." I replied, holding up a cell phone. Dani stared at me.

"Why do you have my phone?" She demanded, closing her backpack. She must have been looking for it, I decided.

"That's what he said." I agreed. She held out her hand.

"Phone." She ordered warningly. I handed it over.

"Anyway, I told him that the play went so well, that the school wants to do an encore performance." I continued, smirking at the horrified looks on their faces.

"What?" Dani demanded.

"He's going to want to come!" Oliver exclaimed. I nodded.

"That's what he said." I agreed.

"So, now we have to do this all over again?" Oliver demanded, angry. "I can't believe you did this!"

"Hey, save your energy." I urged. "You have a performance tomorrow."

Oliver let out a frustrated sigh and began to stalk away. "Where are you going?" I called after him.

"To find Gus and Jordan!" He shouted back. Dani watched him go, then glanced sideways at me.

"My dad didn't really call, did he?" She guessed.

"Nope." I replied, smirking. "Just wanted to see how you guys would react."

"Should we tell Ollie?" She asked. We both considered it, then decided at the same time.

"Nah."


	3. I, Normo

**Dani's POV**

Ah, Mondays. I know most people generally hate Mondays, but it was actually one of my favorite days of the week. I had soccer practice before school, it was the only day of the week we didn't have math class, and because Mom always worked later on Mondays, Ollie and I could work a little later at Mighty Med. So, I considered it a good day.

I had gotten up early, went for a jog and had gone straight to soccer practice before coming to meet the guys at our lockers, as per our usual routine. But since classes didn't start for another twenty minutes, we were left to entertain ourselves.

For me, that meant catching up on all overdue homework. Ollie was looking through a comic book, and Kaz was looking at…well, he was looking at Stephanie Sorenson…again.

"Whoever came up with exclamation points is a genius!" Ollie exclaimed, standing above me. Neither Kaz nor I were really listening, not that he noticed. "Otherwise superheroes would be, like, 'don't panic, I'll save you…'"

"I don't think they're listening." Alivia said, walking over to us.

"Nope." I agreed, not looking up from my math homework. I sighed and looked up at my brother. "This is stupid and impossible. Let me copy yours?"

"You won't learn anything if you don't do it yourself." Ollie replied. I rolled my eyes.

"Look. There's Stephanie." Kaz said suddenly, smiling in the direction of a tall, thin girl with long blonde hair and expensive clothing. Stephanie Sorenson was one of the richest, prettiest girls in our school. All the guys were into her (except Ollie. I didn't know why, but man was I grateful that I didn't have to hear both him and Kaz go on about her), though I wasn't all that big of a fan. I mean, it wasn't that I was jealous of her money or anything, but she was just far too superficial and downright mean for me to understand why anyone could like her. "She's so pretty and shallow." Kaz continued, still smiling. "She's exactly my type."

I snorted in amusement at that. "Really? Well, she is stupid, so I guess…" I mentioned. Kaz chose to ignore me.

"You know what? I'm going to ask her to the school carnival tonight." He decided. We all looked at him in surprise.

"What?" Ollie demanded. "She's the most popular girl in school! You've got no shot with her."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Kaz, but I don't think you're her type." Alivia added, giving him a sympathetic smile.

"Of course I am. We shared a moment today!" He insisted. "She leaned over and said 'is that you that smells like that?' and I said 'no, it's not me. It's something I stepped in'."

"Wow, I'm sure that got her really interested." I commented snidely.

"I'm sure it did." Kaz agreed, ignoring the sarcasm.

"He's had a crush on her since we started high school." Ollie told Alivia.

"Every guy has had a crush on her since we started high school." I added, annoyed. Seriously, what was up with guys always going for the rich blonde?

"Dude, go for it." Ollie told Kaz. "We'll be right by your side."

"Thanks, buddy." Kaz smiled at him appreciatively. Ollie nodded before continuing.

"Right by your side, capturing every painful and humiliating moment on video." He continued, pulling out his new phone. "And…action!" He exclaimed, while Kaz just looked downright annoyed.

I smirked and we all watched Kaz approach Stephanie slowly, nervously.

"Uh, Stephanie?" He asked. She looked at him and smiled. "Hi, uh, I wondering if you were going to school carnival tonight?"

"Of course I'm going." Stephanie replied.

"Uh, great. Maybe-maybe we could go…together?" He suggested, shoving his hands into his pockets, which was one of his nervous habits.

Stephanie frowned at him for a moment, as if she didn't understand, then laughed loudly. "You're so funny!" She giggled. I patted Ollie's leg, as I was still sitting on the ground.

"Hey, send me that, okay?" I requested in a hushed whisper, not wanting to be caught on the microphone. He nodded in reply, not taking his eyes off the footage.

"For a second, I thought that you were, like, seriously asking ME on a date." Stephanie laughed.

"Of course it was a joke." Kaz lied, trying to save himself some humiliation. "Why would I ask you out on a date? I-I-I already have a girlfriend."

I sat up, starting to get interested. This was going to blow up in his face, for sure.

"Really?" Even Stephanie was skeptical. "What's her, like, name?"

Ollie suddenly stepped forward, gently shoving Kaz closer to Stephanie. "Sorry, I just want to keep you both in the shot." He explained.

"Uh, her name is, um…" Kaz looked around, trying to think. Alivia and I both shook our heads at him, making it clear we wouldn't be his fake girlfriend for the night. "Her name is um…" He looked up at the sign above Stephanie's locker. "Carni…Val…Time?"

"Carni what?" Stephanie questioned.

"No. Connie." Kaz decided. "Connie Valentine. Yeah, of the Chicago Valentines? They invented…Valentines?"

Kaz glanced back toward me, Alivia, and Ollie. We didn't react outwardly to what he had said, trying to keep him from getting busted in a lie. But inside, I knew we were all finding this very amusing.

"So, she's rich." Stephanie nodded thoughtfully before smiling. "I want to meet her. Introduce me to her tonight."

Kaz's eyes widened comically. "Great, later!" Stephanie walked away, her group of friends following her.

"Terrific. Now all I have to do is find a fake girlfriend in the next six hours." Kaz muttered. "So Stephanie doesn't think I'm a total loser. This is a disaster!"

"No, THIS is a disaster." Ollie insisted, showing Kaz the edits he'd made to the video. It showed Kaz being crushed by a giant anvil. Kaz looked at him, annoyed. "What? The scene needed some action."

Suddenly, I spotted Barry talking to one of the teachers. "Hey, I'll catch up with you guys later." I told them, jumping to my feet and heading towards him.

"Hey beautiful." He commented as the teacher walked away. "What's up?"

"Oh you know, the usual." I replied, brushing some of my hair out of my eyes. "So, the carnival's tonight…I know you're not the biggest fan of those things, but…"

"I can't wait." Barry told me. I smiled, though I was surprised.

"Really? I thought you didn't like them because you have that thing about clowns." I said. I mean, I'd hoped that he'd say yes, but I hadn't really expected him to.

"Well, next week is our four month anniversary. Consider it an early anniversary gift." He leaned down to kiss me. We broke away after a moment, not wanting to be accused of too much PDA at school. "The only problem is, I've got basketball practice from seven to eight."

"And I'm working until seven." I replied, a little frustrated at how our schedules worked out. Barry smiled at me.

"Well, the carnival's on until midnight, so why don't we meet somewhere at eight-thirty? It'll give you time to hang out with your friends, and then we can spend the rest of the night together."

"That sounds perfect." I replied, beaming up at him. "I'll be waiting by the kettle corn stand." I told him. Tonight was going to be perfect. Well, not for Kaz, but for me anyway.

**Oliver's POV**

"So, any ideas who you're going to convince to be your 'Connie Valentine'?" I asked Kaz as we walked through the hospital, checking off things on our to-do list.

"No." He shook his head. "Hey, Dani's supposed to be working, right?"

"She texted me ten minutes ago. Said she and Barry lost track of the time and that she's on her way." I replied.

"She spends way too much time with him." Kaz commented. "Horace might not be too happy when he finds out how often she's been late."

"She said that she'll work on it." I defended her. I didn't know why I was defending her – I'd practically lectured her on the same thing yesterday – but I was more surprised by Kaz's issue with it. Usually, we were the ones lecturing him on being late, not the other way around.

"Sure she will." Kaz muttered, pushing open the door to the rec room. Skylar was inside, standing next to a table with a loaf of bread on it.

"Come on, stupid bread! Toast!" She cried desperately, clutching a piece of bread in a death grip. "Toast!"

"Hey Skylar. Still not heat vision?" I asked gently.

"No. I am so sick of being in this hospital. I'm bouncing off the walls here!" She complained. "Literally. I tried using my powers to run through them, but I just kept bouncing off."

"Hey, uh, why don't you hang out with us?" Kaz suggested, pulling me out of his way. "There's this carnival at our school tonight. You should totally come."

"I don't know…I've never spent any time in the Normo world." Skylar replied. "I mean, I just fly in from my planet, save humanity, and fly out. At most, I'll stop for a soft pretzel."

"They have soft pretzels at the carnival." Kaz let her know, trying to convince Skylar that this was a good idea. But she just shook her head.

"I won't fit in at your school, just like I don't fit in in the superhero world anymore." She told us.

"Oh, come on! It's just what you need." Kaz insisted. "For you and your best interests. Having nothing to do with me or my best interests at all."

Right. At first, I thought Kaz was actually trying to be nice, but by now, I'd figured out why he was inviting her. He was trying to use her to impress Stephanie.

"I could use a break from Mighty Med." Skylar said thoughtfully. Dani and I exchanged looks, then turned to Kaz.

"Kaz, can I talk to you in private?" I requested. He sighed and followed me over to the simulator, while Skylar went back to her bread. "Kaz, this is a bad idea."

"What? Why?" He questioned. "I need a fake girlfriend, Skylar wants to get out of here, it's perfect."

"Look, she just lost her powers and she's already feeling vulnerable and out of place." I reminded him, trying to get him to see some sense.

"You will not defeat me!" Skylar screamed suddenly, throwing the piece of bread at the far wall, just as Dani opened the door. My sister stepped out of the way in time to avoid being hit by the bread, but looked generally confused as to why she was suddenly being attacked by food.

"Although she could use a change of scenery." Maybe Kaz's plan wasn't the worst one out there. And if we did this properly (and by that, I mean focusing more on helping Skylar than Kaz), it might be good for her. "Fine."

"Hey, what's going on?" Dani questioned, walking over to us.

"Skylar's coming with us to the carnival." Kaz explained. Skylar beamed.

"Really?" She asked, confirming it. When I nodded, her smile grew. "Good, because any place is better than this. Except the Lava Pits of Kelnar. The lines there are SO long."

"But you'll need an alter ego so no one knows you're the real Skylar Storm." Kaz informed her. Skylar nodded.

"I'll just use the most popular girl's name from my planet: Aiyee-eeki-eeki-waa." We all stared at her.

"What?" Dani asked, shaking her head.

"Or…you could just use…Connie Valentine." Kaz suggested.

"Oh, just figured out what's going on." Dani realized. Skylar looked at her, confused. "Nevermind."

"Okay." Skylar agreed reluctantly. "But it doesn't roll off the tongue like aiyee-eeki-eeki-waa."

"I'm sorry, I just have to ask. What's the second most popular name on your planet?" I inquired curiously.

"Emily." Skylar replied. Dani chuckled.

"Figures." She replied. Kaz nodded.

"Alright, now you'll just need something to wear. Dani, you want to handle that?" Kaz asked. Dani put her hands on her hips and looked at him pointedly.

"Because I'm a girl?" She questioned.

"No, because you were complaining just last week about how you hate all the clothing your mom buys for you since it's 'not your style'. I figured you'd have something Skylar can borrow."

"Touché." Dani replied before looking over Skylar. "And yeah, I've got some stuff you can borrow."

"Great." Kaz grinned. "This should be…interesting."

**Kaz's POV**

The carnival was actually pretty cool this year. It was an annual thing, but last year it just had a pathetic clown and a couple of food stands, and not really much to do or see. So this year, they ended up doing some extravagant. There were food stands and games and presentations, even a couple of little shops where you could buy things.

Dani had given Skylar some of the most expensive clothes her mom had ever bought her, and it did the trick of making Skylar look like a Normo. She was wearing a white blouse, a grey jacket, black pants, and a nice hat to go with.

"I'm so nervous." Skylar admitted, rubbing her hands together. "I really want to fit in as a Normo. I'm so self-conscious. How should I stand?"

"Do whatever feels comfortable." Oliver told her, trying to get her to relax. Skylar nodded.

"Okay." She replied before bending over backwards so that both her hands and her feet touched the ground.

"Except that." Dani commented, raising an eyebrow. "Please don't do that."

Skylar did half a cartwheel to get back to a regular standing position, fixed her clothes, then turned back to us.

"Just relax, and breathe." Dani advised her. "You're Skylar Storm; nothing fazes you, right?"

"Right." Skylar nodded, taking a deep breath. "Thanks."

"No problem." Dani replied.

"Guys!" Alivia jogged over to us, her red hair flying out behind her as she ran. "I need…hello?" She stopped when she saw Skylar, a very confused look on her face.

"Oh, right, Liv, this is Connie Valentine." Dani introduced the two girls. "Sk-Connie, this is our friend Alivia McLean."

"It's nice to meet you." Skylar said, smiling. Alivia frowned.

"Connie? But I thought…"

"You needed something, Red?" I asked, cutting her off before she ruined this for me. She shook her head, getting back to business.

"Jordan was supposed to help me with the Balloon Dart booth, but she's faking sick since we're right across from Gus' ring toss booth. I need someone to give me a hand."

"Crap. I promised Gus I'd help him set up." Oliver remembered.

"I'll help you with the Dart game, but only for an hour, okay?" Dani offered. Alivia nodded.

"That'd be great. Nice to meet ya, Connie." The Irish girl said before leading Dani away. Oliver looked at me.

"I'm going to go too, but while Dani and I are gone, stay with Skylar and make sure she feels comfortable." He instructed.

"Relax. I'm not going to let Skylar out of my sight." I assured him, putting my arm around her without taking my eyes off of him. Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's not Skylar." He pointed out. I turned to see that I'd put my arm around another girl from our school. We both jumped away from each other, and I looked around for Skylar, just to make sure I hadn't actually lost her. Luckily, she was just checking out some of the food that had been put out for people to eat.

"I mean it, Kaz." Oliver added before walking away to go help Gus. That was when I caught sight of Stephanie, wearing a pretty pink dress. Perfect timing.

"Oh, uh, hey." I pulled Skylar off to the side, where I could still see Stephanie, but where I could speak without being overheard. "Before we start socializing, there are some Normo customs you should learn. You know, so you don't stick out."

"Okay, like what?" Skylar asked.

"Well, ah, as a gesture of friendship, it's typical for Normos to hold hands." I took her hand, knowing that Stephanie could see us. "Gaze into each other's eyes, and to feed each other apple slices." I pulled a bag of apple slices out of my pocket and offered it to her.

She pulled out an apple slice and popped it into my mouth, then continued to do so, feeding me apple slices faster than I could chew. "Check me out!" Skylar laughed, delighted. "I'm fitting in already."

"So Kaz, you made it." Stephanie smiled, walking over to us. She glanced at Skylar, then looked back at me. "Introduce me."

I quickly spit out the apple slices. "Uh, uh, S-Stephanie, this is Connie."

Skylar reached out and held Stephanie's hand, much to the blonde girl's confusion, and looked her straight in the eye, their faces only a couple of inches apart. "Let's be friends!" She said, maybe a little too aggressively.

"O…kay…" Stephanie was clearly a little weirded out.

"Yeah, she's very intense. I like 'em that way." I lied.

**Oliver's POV**

"Seriously, who is that girl?" Alivia questioned as we walked towards the booths.

"Connie Valentine." I insisted. She looked between me and my sister.

"How did you guys find an actual Connie Valentine to go out with Kaz?" She asked.

"EBay." Dani replied.

"You can't buy people on EBay, Dani." Alivia pointed out. Dani rolled her eyes.

"Sure you can, Liv. You just gotta know where to look." Dani assured her before leaping over the counter of their booth. I walked over to the booth next to it, but instead of a regular display, ours was hidden by a thick red curtain. Gus was bent over a box at the front of the booth, fiddling with the stuff there.

"There is no Gus. There is only…" Gus stood up, revealing that he was dressed in Goth-like clothes, complete with a black wig. "…Gus Angel!"

I crossed my arms, while the two girls looked rather amused at what was going on. "And forget ring toss." Gus continued. "The best way to impress the ladies is with magic!"

Suddenly, a bunny rabbit crawled out of Gus' pant leg. "Aw, bunny!" Dani was a total tomboy, but when it came to animals, she acted like a little girl. She quickly scooped it up, petting its white fur.

"Whoa! I must admit, that was a pretty cool trick!" I exclaimed.

"That wasn't a trick. I have no idea where that came from." Gus told us seriously. Dani looked down at the bunny, frowning, then handed it back to Gus.

"Anyways," Gus released the bunny, "I ordered a magic cabinet from Serbia and I'm going to need you to be my assistant."

"Let's just stick with the ring toss booth." I suggested, not wanting to do anything complicated. I wanted to be able to bail at any moment in case Skylar needed me.

"Fine. Can you hand me the rings?" Gus asked before gesturing at the curtain. "They're right through there."

I walked through the curtains, only to find myself standing in a very strange compartment. I was barely inside when I heard the sound of working gears. The curtains pulled away completely and a metal cage door slid shut behind me, trapping me in the box.

"I can't believe you lied to me!" I exclaimed, angry.

"It wasn't a lie – it was an illusion." Gus insisted. Alivia stood back pretty far from the booth, reading the sign above my head.

"Cabinet of Danger." She read. "This should be…"

"Wicked." Dani grinned. I looked at her.

"You find this funny?" I questioned.

"Remember that time you and Kaz locked me in the shed for three hours?" She countered.

"That was an accident! It wasn't our faults!" I protested. She smirked.

"And I'm not responsible for this either." She replied. "Doesn't mean I'm not going to enjoy it."

"Dani!" We both looked away from each other to see Barry walking over to us. Immediately, I could tell something was wrong; Barry was usually pretty laid back, but he seemed really tense and upset about something.

"Hey." Dani smiled, leaning forward on the counter. "I thought you had practice."

"It got cancelled." Barry replied, a little roughly. "Look, can we talk?"

"Um…" Dani frowned. "I'm working the dart balloon game with Alivia. Why? Is everything alright?"

"Not really, no." Barry said stiffly. "We need to talk, right now."

My sister frowned, then looked at Alivia. "I'll be back." She told her friend before following Barry towards the school.

"What was that about?" Alivia asked, glancing at me. I shrugged helplessly, as confused as she was.

**Dani's POV**

"Barry!" I called after my boyfriend, but he didn't stop walking, not until we'd gone inside the school, where no one could hear us. "Hey!" I grabbed his arm. "What's going on?"

"Why don't you tell me?" He asked, spinning around. I frowned, not understand.

"I don't know what you're so upset about." I said slowly, trying to think if I'd done or said something that would set him off. He sighed harshly, crossing his arms.

"Coach Hart called and said practice was cancelled because his kid was sick and his wife was out of town on business, so I thought 'hey, wouldn't it be a nice surprise for Dani if I picked her up from work'?"

I gulped nervously. "You went to pick me up?"

"Yeah. I drove to Subway fifteen minutes before your shift was supposed to end. But when I didn't see you there, I went to ask one of the employees if you'd left early. You know what he said?"

"What?" My mouth went dry, because I did know what he said.

"He said that there was no employees named 'Dani' at that establishment, and I had him check, in case he was wrong. Because I honestly thought he was." Barry continued. "I mean, after all, my girlfriend said she worked there, so why wouldn't I believe her?"

"Barry…" I murmured, but he cut me off.

"You lied to me." The accusation rang with truth. "You lied to me, Dani."

"I'm sorry." I whispered, looking up at him and feeling so small. "I'm so sorry, Barry. I-"

"Why?" He questioned, shaking his head in disbelief. "Why would you lie?"

"Because I…I can't tell you. I'm sorry, Barry, but I can't tell you." I pleaded with him to understand why I couldn't. To understand that I hated lying to him in the first place and that I wouldn't have done so if I had another choice.

"Not good enough." He snapped, frustrated. He looked at me and sighed softly. "Dani, I like you. You're fun you're cute and you're cool in your own little way, but…I can't be with someone who isn't honest with me."

"No more lies, I swear." I promised. He shook his head.

"Dani, I need you to tell me the truth. Where were you? Why'd you lie in the first place?" He questioned. When I didn't answer, he sighed. "I'm giving you a chance, Dani. You can either tell me where you've really been going after school, or we're done. It's up to you, but I just can't be in a relationship with someone who keeps that many secrets from me."

I stared at him for a long time, my heart breaking. I really, really liked Barry. I really did. He was…well, he was practically perfect, at least for me. But if I told him about Mighty Med, and Horace found out…well, I imagine that it must be hard for cubes to get dates…

"Barry," I looked at him, making my decision. "I…"

**Kaz's POV**

Skylar had begun to explore a bit while I chatted with Stephanie, the brown haired girl checking out different types of food and trying to be sociable with the other people at the carnival.

"So, your girlfriend's cute." Stephanie said, looking past me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Skylar trying to force feed another girl apple slices. "Odd, but cute."

"Yeah, she's great." I agreed, reaching out behind me to put my arm around her shoulder.

"That's not her." Stephanie told me. I looked to see that I was holding the same girl as before.

"Stop following me around, Janet!" I exclaimed, pushing away from the girl.

"Anyway, are you and Connie serious?" Stephanie asked.

"Oh yeah. Very, very serious." I lied.

"That's too bad." Stephanie replied, seeming a little disappointed. My eyes widened when I realized why she'd asked that question.

"Oh, no. What I meant was, we're serious in a way that it makes me cool for having a girlfriend, but not in a way that makes it impossible for me to go out with someone else." I told her, hoping I'd guessed her intentions correctly.

She smiled and led me over to a nearby table. "I made this." She told me, holding out a plate of lava cake. "You should try it."

She took a bit of it in a fork and was about to feed me some when Skylar walked over, apparently bored of bothering other people.

"So…I see you guys are becoming friends." She smiled. I forced myself not to get annoyed – it was my fault that she thought feeding others food was a sign of friendship and nothing more. She looked at the plate of food in Stephanie's hands. "What's that?"

"It's lava cake." Stephanie replied, clearly proud of her culinary masterpiece. And of course, Skylar had to have the most absurd reaction to that possible.

"Kaz, don't eat it!" Skylar warned before slapping the piece of cake out of Stephanie's hands.

"What is wrong with you?" Stephanie demanded, offended.

"Me? You just tried to feed him lava!" Skylar snapped. "Do you know what that could do to a person's insides?" Oh my gosh, this was actually happening. I covered my face with my hands, completely humiliated. "I do. I've seen it happen before, at the lava pits of Kelnar after waiting in a very long line."

"It's just cake. What, are you from another planet?" Stephanie questioned.

"Another planet?" I laughed loudly. "Ha! That's a good one. Ha!"

"I'm out of here." Stephanie decided before turning around and stalking away from us. I turned to look at Skylar, exasperated and in disbelief that she could actually do that to me.

"I didn't know. I was just trying to help." She told me, her tone apologetic. I sighed then looked in the direction Stephanie had gone in.

"Stephanie, wait!" I called, racing after her.

**Oliver's POV**

I watched in disappointment as Kaz ran after Stephanie and away from Skylar. I couldn't hear them exactly, but I didn't need to. It was pretty obvious that Skylar had misunderstood something about Normos because Kaz wasn't properly looking out for her, Stephanie had gotten upset, and Kaz had chosen whose side he was on.

Skylar looked so confused and hurt and upset with herself…I couldn't just let her feel that way when it wasn't her fault. "Gus, I need to get out, right now." I stressed the last bit, hoping he would get the message.

"According to these instructions, this button should open the escape hatch." Gus told me before pressing the button. Instead of opening a door, though, a dozen swords slid into the cage, barely missing me.

"AH!" I screamed, freezing in terror. I got lucky; not a single sword actually hurt me. But it was far too close for comfort.

"Let me see that!" Alivia snatched the instructions away from Gus, then read them over carefully. She raised her head, a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me look on her face. "Gus, these are instructions to build a crib."

"What?" I demanded. She nodded and looked at Gus.

"Well?" She questioned.

"Uh…I guess it's a good thing we don't have a baby in there?" He chuckled nervously.

I looked over at Skylar, who was looking more lost and alone than ever. Kaz, meanwhile, was still chatting with Stephanie, completely oblivious to Skylar.

"I need to help Connie. I need to get out of here." I insisted. "Isn't there an emergency exit in here? Or, on a separate note, a bathroom?"

"I am sure this button will release you." Gus told me before reaching for another button.

"You were sure about the other button, and it released swords." I pointed out. Gus stopped, but I'd already rethought this whole situation. "You know what, who cares? Just push it."

"I don't think that's…" Alivia tried to stop Gus, but he'd already pressed the button. Thankfully, the swords slowly retracted.

"Oh good." For a moment, I thought something was going my way. Then the ceiling began to drop, getting lower and lower, caving me in. "I HATE MAGIC."

Meanwhile, I could see Kaz continuing to try and get Stephanie to go out with him. Meanwhile, Skylar was apparently trying to save Principal Krauss from being pelted with water balloons. I guess she must have missed the sign that said it was okay.

Stephanie, however, was all too happy to point that out to her in what I assumed was a very blunt manner. Though I was too far to hear them, I could see that most of my fellow students were laughing at Skylar.

She ran off, in the direction of the school, clearly upset. I wanted nothing more than to run after her, but I was still trapped inside Gus' magic box.

"I will now close the curtain!" Gus closed the curtains. "And when I say the magic words, something will happen!"

I dropped down low as the top of the box pushed down even faster, leaving me with less and less room.

"The magic words: 'please' and 'thank you'." Gus continued. Suddenly, I fell backwards, having accidently found the exit hatch and fallen out of it. I rolled onto the ground behind the booth, just as Gus shouted, "Behold!"

I heard the curtains open and a bunch of gasps come from the crowd. "He turned into a rabbit?" Gus questioned. Huh, maybe one of the rabbits had climbed in there when I escaped. "I mean, he turned into a rabbit!"

**Xxx**

It didn't take me long to find Skylar, since she was sitting just inside the school, on the bottom of the stairs in the lobby.

"There you are, Skylar." I sighed in relief when I found her. "Is everything okay?"

"No." She responded, looking up at me with a hurt expression on her face. "You said you'd be there for me, and I just embarrassed myself in front of your entire school."

A wave of guilt washed over me. "I am so sorry." I apologized. "I tried, but I-I was stuck in a box with-with swords and-and rabbits and-and Gus was wearing rhinestones-" I broke off, still wondering why Gus had rhinestones. "It was horrible!"

Skylar got to her feet and put her hand on my shoulder. "Calm down, everything's going to be okay." She told me, soothingly.

"No, it's not!" I protested. "I said I'd have your back, and I didn't. I'm a terrible friend."

"It's alright. You have nothing to worry about." She reassured me. "I'm here for you."

"I was supposed to be here for you. To help you." I insisted, sitting down on the stairs, feeling like a bad friend. We all were. Kaz was, Dani was, and I was. And yeah, I figured that Kaz and Dani wouldn't stick around to help Skylar the whole time (it was just like them, to run off to be with someone they were into) so I'd promised myself that I wouldn't abandon Skylar. Which is exactly what ended up happening.

"But you ARE helping me." Skylar assured me, sitting down next to me.

"How?" I questioned.

"By needing my help." Skylar replied. "That's my purpose in life: to help others. And this is the first time since I lost my powers that I actually felt…useful. Thank you, for being so helpless."

I smiled softly, then she leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Yeah, well, uh…helpless is kinda my thing." I said, trying to be cool. Then it occurred to me just how uncool that was. "Uh, you want to get out of here?" I asked.

"We should go find Kaz and Dani." Skylar said, standing up. I nodded in agreement; I had a couple of things to say to them for just ditching Skylar like that.

**Kaz's POV**

"I'm so conflicted." I said to Stephanie. "I want to go out with you, but if I do, no other guy will ever live up to me."

"No? Okay, never mind." It didn't seem to bother Stephanie all that much, so I quickly continued.

"But if I don't, I will have to live with knowing that I deprived you of…this." I gestured at myself, smiling charmingly. Stephanie smiled at me, and I decided to this opportunity to steal a little lip action.

I leaned in to kiss her, but before I COULD, Gus interrupted us.

"Do I have some juicy gussup for you?" He exclaimed. "Gussup – that's 'gossip from Gus'."

"Not now, Gus." I told him, annoyed.

"I just say some girl kiss Oliver!" He told me excitedly. I frowned, then turned around, looking for my best friend. He and Skylar were walking side by side, both of them smiling.

"Connie?" I grinned, happy for him. "Way to go, Oliver!"

"Seriously?" Stephanie looked at me incredulously. "What kind of man lets another guy hit on his girlfriend?"

"Uh…" Right. As far at Stephanie knew, Skylar and I were still together. "Uh, not this man. In fact, I'm going to walk over there right now and, uh-"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Gus began to chant, cutting me off. Within seconds, most of the crowd was chanting the same thing, and I knew I was screwed. I sighed and walked over to Oliver.

'There you are. H-h-how could-" He started, but I didn't give him the chance to finish.

"Hey man! What do you think you're doing with her?" I demanded loudly. Oliver frowned, confused.

"What are you talking about?" He asked slowly. I leaned in so I could whisper and not be overhead by anyone but him.

"Stephanie thinks you're hitting on my girlfriend. Just go with it!" I hissed pleadingly before backing up. "Oh, what's that you said?" I called loudly, jumping around him like I was a boxer. "Don't hurt you? Yeah? Ho ho! It's about to get real up in this carnival!"

"Fine. You wanna fight?" Oliver slowly rolled up his sleeves.

"Yeah." I agreed. I expected him to try and hit me, but in a way that it either wouldn't hurt, or I could block it easily. However, I did not expect him to tackle me to the ground and try to rip off my arm.

"Ah! Okay!" I shouted before hissing at him. "Too real! Too real!"

"How could you ditch Skylar?" Oliver hissed back, pulling on my arm. Skylar, appearing behind us, pulled the both of us to our feet, an annoyed look on her face.

"Stop it! You two can't fight!" She snapped. "Seriously, who punches like this?" She mocking showed us how we'd been fighting.

"Oh, I can't believe you need your girlfriend to save you." Stephanie sneered. Skylar stared at her.

"Girlfriend?" The brunette repeated, shocked. I winced; I guess the cat was out of the bag. She looked at me, furious. "You told her I was your girlfriend?"

"So you lied about having a girlfriend?" Stephanie questioned. I didn't even get a chance to respond before she continued. "I-I can't believe I actually considered going out with you, and then eventually dumping you on your birthday. You two weirdos deserve each other."

Alright, enough was enough. "Hey, you know what? Sky-Connie," I corrected myself quickly, "may be a little strange, but at least she's a good person, and a good friend. You're just a shallow, spoiled princess. I mean, I'd still go out with you if you were still interested." I added, as an afterthought. "But, uh, not because of what you are like, because of what you look like!"

Stephanie rolled her eyes and walked away, Gus trailing after her with offers of money and bunnies.

I sighed and turned to Skylar. "Skylar, I'm sorry I lied to you. I never should have used you like that."

"No, you shouldn't have." Oliver agreed.

"So, I'm guessing after today, you want nothing to do with Normos?" I assumed.

"Actually, I'm thinking of going to school here." Skylar surprised me. Oliver's face lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Really?" He asked, his voice full of hope. Much to his delight, she nodded.

"Yeah. I live for danger and drama, and what's more dangerous and dramatic than high school?" She grinned. "And besides, where else can you go that has a carnival every day?"

With a grin, Skylar practically skipped away, excited to go check out the rest of the carnival. Oliver and I exchanged looks. "Should we tell her it's not like this every day?" I asked.

"Eh, she wants to know what it's like to be a Normo." He reasoned. "Lesson number one: disappointment."

"Oliver!" I heard Alivia's crisp, Irish accent come from behind me and I saw her jogging towards us.

"Hey, Liv." I nodded at her in greeting. "You wouldn't have happened to have Dani, would you?"

"She left." She replied, biting her lip a little. Kaz frowned and glanced at his watch.

"It's only like…nine. And Barry's still here, so why would she leave so early?" He asked, confused. Alivia's face fell a bit.

"I take it you haven't heard." She mentioned softly.

**Dani's POV**

I sniffled a bit, running my hand through the bunny's hair. I was more than a little upset about what happened with Barry, and all I wanted to do was think about something else, but I couldn't seem to be able to focus on anything else. Especially not with Ollie trying to talk to me about it.

" _Dani, please let me in."_  Judging by where the sound of his voice had come from, he'd gone from standing in front of my door to sitting with his back against it. Which made sense, seeing as he'd been trying to get me to unlock my door for almost twenty minutes now.

"Go away, Ollie." I retorted, stroking the bunny I'd taken from Gus.

" _Please, Dee?"_  I knew that there was no chance in hell that he was going away. As much as I loved my brother and the fact that he was trying to be there for me when he knew I was upset, the last thing I wanted to do was talk about it, or anything at this point.

Suddenly, a strange noise coming from outside caught my attention. I rolled over in my bed to see Kaz crouching on the roof just outside my window, his classic grin on his face. I just gave him an exasperated look, which he ignored. He tapped on the window again, motioning for me to open it.

I sighed and climbed out of bed. I walked over to the window, pushed it open, and looked at him. "Go away."

"No way. I just got the new Call of Duty game, and Kenny's hogging the TV in our room, so I figured I'd play here." He replied, pushing past me into the room. Without waiting for a reply, he headed straight to my TV and pulled a couple of things out of his backpack. He placed the video game case on the ground next to him, then tossed me a box from his bag. "Catch."

I caught the box easily, turning it over in my hands. "Tofo-pops?"

"I figured I'd grab some more for Mighty Med, since you ate the last of them without telling me." He gave me a dirty look before continuing. "Anyway, there was a two for one sale, so I picked up an extra box. Help yourself."

"Kaz, you can't just come in here and play video games whenever you want!" I exclaimed, frustrated. He put his game in the consol, then looked at me.

"Why not? I brought you food, didn't I?" He questioned, plopping down on the bed next to me. He laid down, the game controller in his hands, then he glanced at the bunny. "Where'd you get the rabbit?"

"Gus' pants." I replied absently. Kaz turned around and looked at me, confused and disgusted. "Long story, please don't ask."

"Trust me, I won't." He agreed.

" _Is that Kaz?"_  Oliver called from outside my room.

"He's just leaving." I responded. Kaz chuckled.

"No I'm not." He laughed. I sighed in frustration, then walked over to my door and unlocked it for Ollie.

"Make him leave." I told my brother. Kaz shook his head.

"I'm not leaving until I finish this mission." He declared, getting comfortable and starting up the game. Ollie gave me this helpless look and I sighed, lying down on the bed next to Kaz and playing with the bunny.

"You know you can't keep that, right?" Ollie asked, sitting down on the edge of my bed.

"Watch me." I muttered.

"It could have fleas!" Ollie protested. "We have no idea where Gus got it."

"Then I will give the fleas names and feed them too." I glared at my brother, already a little protective of my pet. I'd always wanted an animal, but I'd never really been able to afford keeping one. Now that I worked at Mighty Med, I could.

"I thought you were a cat person, anyway." Kaz mentioned, scowling as his character was once again killed. He restarted, trying again. "Not a bunny person."

"Well, Gus didn't magically make cats appear, did he?" I asked, pouting a little. "No, so therefore, I am keeping the bunny."

"Dang it!" Kaz complained, watching his character die.

"Wow, you are really sucking at this tonight, man." Ollie winced sympathetically.

"Yeah, well I'm not exactly having a great night, am I?" Kaz muttered. "First, I get rejected by Stephanie, then my brother steals my TV from me."

"Kaz, I just got dumped, and I can still do better than that." I commented dryly, swallowing past the lump in my throat. Kaz turned around to face me, holding up the remote.

"You sure about that, princess?" He challenged. I looked at him, snagged a tofo-pop out of the box, took a bite, then grabbed the remote.

"Don't call me 'princess'." I retorted, snatching the remote from him, and focusing on the game.

I quickly advanced through the game, easily beating the levels that Kaz lost on. I wasn't a fool; I knew that Kaz had lost on purpose in order to give me a decent distraction from Barry. And even though it only worked a little bit, I couldn't help but smile.


	4. Pranks for Nothing

**Kaz's POV**

I was standing in one of the hallways at Mighty Med, impatiently waiting for Skylar to arrive.

Oliver and Dani arrived first, the former going through a clipboard, and the latter talking in a low mumble, clearly upset about something.

"Hey." I greeted as they walked up to us.

"Hey." Oliver replied. Dani didn't, so I raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess – you're mom made you give Gus back his bunny?" I asked, knowingly. She nodded.

"It's not fair." She complained. "I was going to take care of it myself and feed it and everything."

"It had fleas, Dani." Oliver pointed out.

"We could have bathed it." She insisted. Oliver rolled his eyes but didn't argue with her. Ever since she and Barry broke up, he was being careful not to upset her too much, since we both knew she was in a bad mood because of it. I, on the other hand, had a better tactic to cheer her up.

"Hey, check it out." I grinned. "I'm totally about to prank Skylar."

"And you didn't consult us?" Oliver looked at me, offended. Dani nodded.

"We're the prank experts." She agreed. I rolled my eyes. "So, what's the plan?"

"Snakes in a can? Fake vomit? Fake vomit in a can?" Oliver suggested. Dani frowned and looked at him.

"Who puts fake vomit in a can?" She questioned. Oliver smirked, but didn't respond.

"Please, that's amateur stuff." I told them, grinning as Skylar walked down the halls. She smiled at us before heading for the nearby door, but just before she could push it open, a very short, white lady with black hair burst through it, screeching and hissing as if she were possessed.

"Chinese Vengeance Ghost!" I laughed in amusement. Skylar merely glanced at the lady, then peeked down the hall.

"Did anyone lose this nightmare lady? Because I think I found it!" She called. I sighed.

"Skylar, that's a prank." I told her. She nodded before glancing back down the hall.

"Did anyone lose this prank? Because I think I found it!" She shouted. The Chinese Vengeance Ghost gave up at that point, and walked away.

"Skylar, a prank is when you trick someone in a funny way, like putting a whoopee cushion under their chair." Dani explained. Oliver and I both laughed at the idea.

"It's funny because it sounds like a fart!" Oliver laughed.

"On my planet, we don't have time for nonsense like that. Our goal is to help people, not make them look stupid." Skylar insisted.

"But on our planet, looking stupid is pretty popular." Dani insisted. "Besides, making other people look like idiots is fun."

"Yeah," I agreed, "Pranks are literally the first thing we learn to laugh at, starting with…" I covered my face with my hands, then took them away, "Peek a boo!"

To my surprise, Skylar immediately spun around and tried to kick me in the face. I backed up enough to avoid it, but stared at her in confusion. "So that you react to, but the Chinese vengeance ghost, nothing?" I demanded.

"Sorry, but on my planet, this," she demonstrated the same as I did, "is a marriage proposal."

"Then why'd you try to kick my head off?" I questioned.

"That's how we say no." She replied. Oliver, Dani, and I exchanged looks. Okay…

"Oh, by the way, Skylar," Dani looked at her, "You mentioned wanting to go to school at Logan High?" Skylar nodded. "I got some papers you need to fill out at my work station. They're the ones with the pink sticky-note that says 'Connie Valentine' on it."

"Alright, great!" Skylar beamed. "Oh, what classes do you think I should take?"

The girls left us at that point, Dani giving Skylar tips on which classes were the more interesting ones, and which teaches should be avoided at all costs. I glanced at Oliver.

"Alright, who's she more upset about losing? Barry, or the bunny?" I asked.

"Not sure. I figure if we keep her distracted, she'll forget about both of them, or find something new to be upset about." He reasoned. I nodded; the method had worked pretty well in the past.

"No one mentions the words 'Barry', 'boyfriend', or 'bunny' for at least a week." I decided. Oliver nodded.

"Agreed." He replied, then we jogged after the girls.

**Dani's POV**

Since Skylar didn't know much about pranks, Kaz, Ollie, and I decided that it was high time she learn. So, we set up a little lesson on the values of humiliating others. We'd gone all out to do so, even bringing in a whiteboard full of the equations and graphs relating to our pranks.

"Okay, as the world's foremost expert on practical jokes, I give you a crash course in the ABCs of pranking."

Ollie and I glanced up at the board. "Kaz, you spelled ABCs wrong." I told him. Sure enough, the title on the top of the board was: The ACB's of Pranking.

"A crash course in the ACBs of pranking." Kaz corrected himself.

"Let me do this." Ollie insisted, gently pushing Kaz to the side. "I've been pranking since before either of you were born."

"Oliver, you're only three days older than me." Kaz pointed out. I nodded.

"And only eighteen minutes older than me." I added.

"I know." My brother smirked smugly, glancing at Skylar. "I came out sideways, just to mess with my mother."

"Sadly, that's a true story…I think." I admitted.

"Now," Ollie continued, "the key factors in making a good prank are how it's done-"

"-Who it's pulled on-" Kaz interjected.

"And most importantly, how silly the person ends up looking." I finished.

"Oh, I got it." Skylar nodded, standing up. She looked at Ollie. "So, Oliver, the guy who cuts your hair, he was pulling a prank on you?"

Kaz and I didn't bother to try and hide our chuckles, though my brother didn't look all that amused.

"It looks better after a day or two!" He retorted, hurt.

"Of course it does, Ollie." I patted his shoulder just as Horace walked in.

"Perfect timing for an in-class demonstration." Kaz beamed. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pink whoopee cushion. "Behold, the classic whoopee cushion gag."

He quickly placed the whoopee cushion under the seat cushion, then looked to make sure Horace didn't notice. Luckily, he was too busy checking things off on his clipboard to be bothered with what we were up to.

"Hey Horace." I said loudly, in a falsely cheerful voice. Horace turned to greet me, then caught sight of the white board.

"Are you planning pranks?" He questioned, walking over to us. "This is a hospital, not a prank planning place where pranks are pulled and planned. Please!"

"Hey, maybe you should sit down and tell us why we shouldn't pull pranks." Kaz suggested, though his voice was highly suspicious. However, Horace didn't seem to notice.

He went to sit down, but right before he could, he stood back up again. "Wait, I came here for a reason." He remembered. We all sighed. Dang! "To sit down."

He went to sit down again, then stood back up before he could. "But I don't have time; I'm a very busy man." We sighed again. "Just remember what I said about no pranks. I'm trying to impress a very important superhero." He wandered over to the seat next to the one that was armed with the whoopee cushion. "Which reminded me, I need to make a note."

He sat down in the unarmed chair, and a short, loud fart sound came from his general direction. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, as did the others.

"See Dr. Isaacson about flatulence problem." Horace read out loud as he wrote.

"Well, usually that works a little differently, but you get the idea." Ollie mentioned.

**Kaz's POV**

"Okay, Skylar," Oliver announced as we walked into the hall, "since Kaz and Dani are clearly rookies at pranking, let the Maestro of Mischief show you how it's done."

**Xxx**

"Hey, Solar Flare!" Oliver hissed, walking up to the pyrokinetic superhero. She was sitting in a chair opposite of Skylar in the rec room, while Dani and I hung by the exercise equipment, observing. Oliver knelt down besides her, grinning. "Check this out. I'm going to pretend to crack an egg on Skylar's head." He whispered, much to her amusement.

Oliver walked behind Skylar, and pretended to crack an egg on the top of her head. "Why did you crack an egg on my head?" Skylar demanded loudly.

"Terrible acting." Dani muttered from beside me, shaking her head.

"Oh, you just faked it." Skylar continued, feeling her hair for egg yolk. She looked at Solar Flare. "You should see what it feels like."

The superheroine nodded eagerly and Oliver walked back up behind her, subtly slipping a real egg out of her pocket.

"This is going to be messy." I mumbled to Dani, just before Oliver cracked the real egg on Solar Flare's head, the sticky yolk dripping all over her hair.

Solar Flare gasped in disgust, her hands automatically reaching up to her head as Skylar and Oliver laughed. She glared at Oliver furiously, flames rising up from her finger tips. Hell, even the yolk was beginning to burn in her anger.

"Oh, please." Dani stood up, rolling her eyes at her brother. "That was pathetic."

"You think you can do better?" Oliver challenged. She merely smirked in response.

"Give me an hour and access to a printer and Horace's office." She replied.

**Xxx**

"Hey, it's been an hour." I banged my fist against the door to Horace's office. "Seriously, Dee, Horace will be back any second now."

"I just finished." Dani pushed open the door, smirking proudly. "Don't you just love how I've redecorated?"

I had to admit, when Dani put her mind to something, she really went all out with it. She'd covered the walls and floor of Horace's office with pictures of destroyed and broken bridges. Every square inch of that office was covered in them, even the office supplies. Don't ask me how she managed to get the keys on his key board covered with the pictures, but she did.

"Horace is coming!" Skylar hissed at us. Dani, Oliver, and I bolted from the office, heading down a hall to our left.

"See, I'm not big on sticky messes like the boys, so I stick to a different kind of prank." Dani explained in a hushed whisper as we watched Horace head into his office. The door had barely shut when we heard a horrified, girlish scream come from the room. Dani smirked.

"Screams are equivalent to messes in my opinion, so I think I win, Ollie." She declared, her green eyes glinting.

"Not bad." I admitted. "But let the genius with a capital J show you how it's done."

They all looked at me. "Capital J, really?" Dani questioned. I rolled my eyes – she was always so focused on grammar.

"Oh, sorry." I apologized. "Genius with a lower case J."

Dani stared at me, much to my amusement. Now, time to show them how it's done.

**Xxx**

I pressed the quarter onto the tiled floor, careful to avoid the superglue I'd spread on the back of it.

"Really? You're going with this?" Dani questioned, raising an eyebrow. I chuckled.

"Wait for it." I told her as the door opened up. One of the more famous superheroes, The Great Defender, walked in. He was an incredibly tall man with black skin, dressed in a black, blue, and purple sleeveless uniform. On his chest was his logo – a deep blue shield with a black line through the middle and a purple curling line on either side of it.

"It's the Great Defender!" Oliver exclaimed, running up to him. We all beamed. "I'm a big fan." Oliver told him. "I love your power to create a defensive shield and make powers rebound off you!"

"I am really good at rebounding." The Great Defender replied, grinning proudly. Then his smile faded. "But there's something off with my Freeze Throws." He raised his hands and a ball of ice, the size of a basketball, formed between them. He turned to throw it into the nearby garbage can, but it missed by about a foot. "I can only make, like, five out of ten."

"Hey." I said loudly, before pointing at the quarter. "What's that?"

"Ooh, it must be my lucky day." The Great Defender beamed, walking over to the quarter. He bent down to pick it up, but struggled with it.

"They weren't kidding when they labeled it 'super glue'." Dani commented. The Great Defender pulled on the quarter again. Even though the quarter itself didn't move, he managed to rip off a part of the floor, and carry it in his hands.

Skylar and I laughed, finding the prank hilarious. "Hey, does anyone know where the 'Caution – No Floor' sign is?" I laughed.

Things got even funnier when the janitor, David, walked over and place a yellow 'Caution – No Floor' sign next to the massive hole.

**Dani's POV**

"Great prank, Kaz." I commented sarcastically as we walked into Mighty Med's laundry room. The boys were trailing a little behind Skylar and I, carrying the Great Defender's uniform that we now had to wash as punishment for the prank. "Now we have to do laundry."

"Well you pranked Horace and you didn't get in trouble." Kaz protested.

"Yeah, that's because I left a note saying 'Alan was here' to throw him off the scent." I replied. Ollie looked at the suit, frowning.

"Do you wash indestructibles in cold or warm?" He asked, unsure.

"I'll check the tag." Skylar offered, feeling the fabric for the tag. Her eyes widened when she read it.

"Whoa." She looked at us. "He's an XXXXXXXX…small?"

"He's the shortest person on his planet." Kaz explained. "He gets teased all the time."

"Just put it in cold, Ollie." I sighed. "We don't want to accidently shrink it or something."

"Good idea." My brother agreed as he and Kaz shoved the large, or small depending on what planet you were from, suit into the washer. Kaz raised his head to press the start button when he noticed a black dial.

"Hey, this machine has a super spin dial; we'll be done in no time." He let us know before turning the dial all the way to the right. The industrial-sized washer turned on, the blur of the clothing spinning around the washer almost glowing blue.

Then it did start glowing a bit, and the room began to shake. "Kaz, what did you do?" I questioned as we all slowly backed away from the glowing washing machine.

Suddenly, an invisible force threw us into the nearby wall, holding us far off the ground.

"What have you guys done?" The Great Defender demanded, walking into the room wearing a blue Mighty Med issue hospital gown. Despite the whirlwind keeping everything pinned to the walls, he seemed completely unaffected. "The power of the super spin cycle is connected to the Earth's core. Everyone knows that!"

"Well, clearly not everyone!" I snapped.

"Why aren't you affected?" Skylar demanded.

"I've got a lot of traction. Have you seen the size of my feet?" He responded.

Kaz ignored the light-hearted joke. "Okay, what's going to happen?" He questioned.

"We're all doomed!" Now, it was one thing if a normal person was saying that we were doomed, but when a superhero, one of the greatest superheroes in the universe, says that, it's something to freak out about. Which is exactly what we did.

We all screamed until the Great Defender laughed, amused. "I pranked you back, Kaz!" He exclaimed, smirking. We all stared at him. "The super spin cycle didn't do this, I did."

"What do you mean?" Skylar sounded as bewildered as the rest of us.

"I spun the earth on my finger, like this." To prove his point, he spun a basketball around on his finger with ease. "But bigger, because it's the Earth."

We all exchanged looks. "That is awesome!" Kaz was thrilled.

"But the hyper-rotation will rip the Earth apart!" Ollie protested.

"Not as awesome." I corrected Kaz, not doubting my brother for a moment.

"Don't worry." The Great Defender brushed it off. "I'll just spin the Earth in the other direction."

He aimed his hands at the ground, but nothing happened. He tried again, but got the same result. "Oh no, my powers, they aren't working. That's why I'm here in the hospital."

"If you can't stop it, what will happen?" Skylar asked.

"The planet will spin into the sun, destroying the Earth and everything on it." He replied. He narrowed his eyes at Kaz. "That's what you get for pranking me. This is all your fault."

We all turned our heads to look at him harshly. He laughed nervously. "On the bright side, at least there won't be school tomorrow. Or ever."

"I'd rather suffer through a history lesson than be dead, Kaz." Ollie snapped. I didn't exactly disagree with him.

"I can't believe the world's going to end." I muttered. Kaz nodded.

"I know, and I just got these new jeans." Kaz agreed. We all looked at him. "Talk about bad timing, huh?"

Horace suddenly came stumbling into the room, gripping the walls and columns to help propel himself down the hallway. "What's going on?" He demanded.

"Why don't you tell him, Kaz?" I called, glancing at him. He sighed.

"The truth is…" He took a deep breath, then lunged forward, managing to point at The Great Defender briefly before his hand was forced back against the wall. "He did it!"

The Great Defender stared at him, but Kaz didn't care. "The Great Defender made the Earth spin faster and now he can't get it to stop!"

Horace looked at the Great Defender. "They pranked me first!" He protested childishly. "They got my uniform dirty, and the only other uniform they could find that fit me was this!" He ripped open the gown to reveal the white and red 'Rockets' basketball jersey. With that final word, the Great Defender left the room, an annoyed look on his face.

"I warned you kids about pulling pranks." Horace called before pushing himself closer to us. Ollie sighed.

"Why did you have to prank The Great Defender, Kaz?" He questioned, exasperated. "Why couldn't you just admit that I'm better at pulling pranks than you?"

"Uh, what?" I craned my head back to look at him. "Ollie, I think we all know that I'm the Governess of Giggles."

"Governess of Giggles?" Kaz repeated.

"What do you think I should have said? The Sultan of Silliness? The Countess of Comedy?"

"Are you done?" Skylar asked.

"No. Or the Warlord of Wackiness?" I continued. "Now I'm finished."

"What about Princess of Pranks?" Kaz suggested. I raised an eyebrow.

"Do I look like a princess to you?" I questioned.

"Guys!" Skylar snapped, getting us back on track. She looked at Horace. "There's go to be something that we can do!"

"I can activate the hospital's motion stabilizers." Horace exclaimed, managing to hit a button on his wrist watch. Suddenly, the force holding us against the wall disappeared, and we all fell to the ground.

"Ow." I complained, sitting up.

"The Earth is still hurtling towards the sun." Horace reminded us as we got to our feet. "Which means we'll be experiencing unbearable heat, and geysers of steam!"

Moments later, steam burst from between the floor tiles, and the temperature began to rise rapidly. "I'm so torn. I love being right, but I hate being hot."

"We need to think." Ollie turned to us. "If only Skylar still had her ability to turn back time."

"Or her power to control celestial bodies." Kaz added.

"Or her power to alter gravity." I agreed.

"I get it!" Skylar shouted before any of us could continue. "I used to be really cool!"

We all turned our heads away as more hot steam rose from the floor. "Wait, there is one way to save us." Horace realized. He looked at us. "Mighty Med has a small, three person rocket. You could pilot that rocket into space and use its deflector shield to nudge the Earth back into orbit."

Well, that sounded dangerous and likely deadly. Cool. "Why us? Aren't there any superheroes who can do it?" Ollie wasn't so sure about it.

"No, the rocket's controls require the repetitive motions that you three have mastered wasting your lives playing video games!" Horace exclaimed.

"And Mom always said that video games would never help us in real life." I smirked. "Ha!"

There was another burst of steam, this one even hotter than the last. "Okay, Horace, count us in." Kaz told our boss, a serious look on his face.

"Good, but before we launch you into space, there's one very important thing I need to tell you." He warned us. We all looked at him expectantly.

"What is it?" Kaz asked.

"Those pants are not doing you any favors." Horace informed him, shaking his head.

**Kaz's POV**

After Dani, Oliver and I got changed into space suits (how cool was it that I was wearing a space suit! If we didn't die, we were definitely going to be taking a commerative fake photo in these!), Horace led us into the rec room.

"The launch pad is beneath the training deck. We will lower you into the capsule." He explained. "Oh! One small detail: the impact from the deflector shields will destroy the rocket, so you will have to eject yourselves into space. How many days can a Normo survive without oxygen?"

We stared at him, trying to decide if he was serious. Unfortunately for us, he was. "Zero. Zero days!"

"Forget it! There's no way we're doing that!" I snapped. Dani nodded.

"I'm not dying in space." She decided.

"Oh, well I understand. No problem." Horace replied sarcastically. "The world and everyone on it can get destroyed, but we all really enjoyed your little prank day."

"Dude, not fair." Dani muttered, biting her lip nervously.

"We have to do this." Oliver murmured.

"We are the only hope to save the world." I agreed reluctantly. Dani stared at us.

"If we do this, we're going to die." She reminded us, shaking her head. Oliver looked at her.

"And if we don't, the world's going to end and we're going to die anyway." He pointed.

"We might as well go out with a bang." I reasoned. She raised an eyebrow.

"I don't see how suffocating in space is going out with a bang, but Ollie made a good point." She said, nodding thoughtfully. "Okay. Let's go…save the world, I guess."

"Wait, don't send them!" Skylar pleaded after bursting through the door. "It really should be me going up there!"

Oliver looked at her, smiling with a look of adoration on his face. "Wow, that is so like you, sacrificing yourself to save us."

"The truth is, I really don't trust you guys to do it right." She admitted. I tilted my head, nodding slightly in agreement.

"You can't go. They're already suited up, and we're out of time." Horace told her. "Move out, kids!"

I glanced at Horace, then lead Oliver and Dani over to the side. "Hey, Oliver, Dani, before we go, I have a confession to make."

They both looked at me. "You guys are better at pranks than me. You are the Governess of Giggles and the Sultan of Silliness. But Dee, you're also the nincompoop of nicknames."

"I know." Dani agreed, grimacing slightly. "But, thanks."

"Yeah. Thank you." Oliver nodded. "And listen, if these are our last few moments alive, I'm glad I'm spending them with you guys."

I smiled, touched. "You two are the best friends I could ever have." I said softly. Dani smiled.

"Likewise." She agreed. "I love you guys."

"I love you too." I replied. Oliver smiled.

"Me three." He agreed, pulling the two of us in for a hug, the three of us holding each other tightly.

"And I love all three of you, for letting me witness such a…hilariously sappy moment!" Horace laughed. Suddenly, the lights around the training deck turned back to normal, as if this were an ordinary day.

"What?" Dani frowned, stepping back slightly as we all pulled away from each other.

"What's going on?" I demanded as Horace continued to laugh.

"Sike!" Horace chuckled, grinning. "The Earth's not spinning towards the sun! It was all a fake! There's no rocket, there's no positronic reactor, there's no launch pad under the training deck. Actually, there's a graveyard."

"Th-This was all a prank?" Oliver demanded. We were all staring at Horace, stunned.

"Yep." Skylar smirked at us. "Now that's how you pull a practical joke."

"You were in on this?" Dani questioned skeptically.

"No." Skylar assured her before grinning. "It was all my idea!"

"Seriously?" Dani laughed in amazement. Skylar nodded.

"And the student has become the master." She declared proudly.

"I don't understand. What about all the heat and the quaking? And the centripetal force?" Oliver questioned.

"The Great Defender was in on the whole thing." Horace told us. "He wasn't spinning the Earth on his finger, that would be ridiculous. He was only spinning the hospital on his finger."

"Like this." The Great Defender chose that moment to walk back into the room, now dressed in his uniform. He spun a basketball around on his finger. "But bigger, because it's a hospital."

"And Solar Flare created the heat surge." Skylar added as the pyrokinetic superheroine walked into the room, smirking at us.

"I feel so stupid." I commented.

"Don't." The Great Defender told us. "The danger was fake, but your bravery was not. I commend all of you."

"I don't." Horace interjected. We looked at him, hurt and annoyed. "You should have seen your faces!" He and Skylar both began to mock us, clearly enjoying our humiliation.

"We don't have to stand here and take this." Oliver told them. I nodded.

"No we don't." I agreed.

"C'mon." Dani started walking away, with us following her. Until, the floor suddenly disappeared from under us and we fell into a giant crater in the ground.

"Who moved the 'Caution – No Floor' sign?" I demanded.


	5. It's Not the End of the World

**Oliver's POV**

"Well, Crusher, all of your genetic mutations seem to be in proper disorder." I declared, looking at the superheroes chart. Kaz and I were handling his case, while Dani was busy prescribing something for Mesmira's pink eye.

"Oh, one more thing. Since you're the strongest man in the universe," Kaz pulled a camera still in its packaging out of his pocket, "Can you help me with this? These packages are impossible to open."

He handed the package to the Crusher, who merely grabbed a pair of scissors off a nearby table and cut a slit in the package. He handed it back to Kaz, who scowled in annoyance. "I could have done that."

Skylar suddenly headed over to us, but instead of walking, she did a round off, landing on her feet with complete grace.

"Oh, hey Skylar." After a few of weeks, even we were used to Skylar's gymnastics. She beamed at us, obviously in a good mood.

"I can't wait for my first day of school tomorrow!" She exclaimed. "I just hope it's better than school on my planet."

"How bad can alien school be?" Dani questioned, walking over to us with her clipboard. "Hey, Ollie, can you check these? I don't want to accidently give Mesmira the wrong thing."

"If you're later, the teacher makes you stand in the corner." Skylar told her.

"That doesn't sound that bad." I reasoned.

"'Corner' is our word for 'oven'." She pointed out.

"You'll do fine." Kaz assured her. He brightened up, getting an idea. "Hey, you should join the cheerleaders, because you're all bendy, and flippy, and can invite us to their parties."

I looked at Kaz, then at Skylar. "Could you excuse us?" I asked politely before pulling him off to the side.

"Dude, I don't want Skylar to join the cheerleaders!" I snapped, glaring at him. "She'll start hanging out with jocks, whose muscles are bigger than my face! How can I compete with that?"

"I don't know, get a bigger face?" Kaz deadpanned. I rolled my eyes and walked back over to Skylar and Dani, who were talking about tomorrow.

"Skylar, if I were you, I'd stay away from the cheerleaders." I advised. "I mean, 'two, four, six, eight, who do we appreciate?' Clearly not odd numbers."

"Yeah, but who does?" Dani said teasingly. I rolled my eyes, much to her amusement. She turned to Skylar. "But seriously, joining some clubs might be good to help you socialize. Liz's petitioning to start a drama club."

"Sounds fun." Skylar nodded. "How many people are in it?"

"So far, you, me, and Liv." She admitted. "Not many people at our school are big on theatre."

"Whoa, hey." Kaz suddenly grinned, looking past me. I turned to see a tall, very pale skinned man with very long white hair and black sunglasses.

"Who's that?" Skylar questioned, frowning.

"Horace's cousin, Boris Diaz." Kaz replied.

"Also known as Timeline." Dani interrupted. Kaz nodded.

"He's a superhero whose ability to see into the future helps other heroes fight evil." He continued.

"He's also won every fantasy football league he's ever been in." I added.

"Oh, cool." Skylar smiled. "I'm going to go introduce myself."

"You don't have to. He's already seen this conversation happen in the future, so he already knows all of our names." I said.

"Hello, Luigi." Timeline greeted, walking over to us. He nodded at me, then Skylar, then Dani, and finally Kaz. "Paul, Dave, Cinnamon."

"I think there's something wrong with his powers." Kaz commented, looking at him.

"We haven't examined him yet, Kaz. Don't just to conclusions."

"I see danger." Timeline realized. "Step forward, Luigi!"

I stepped forward quickly. "You are safe now." He assured me.

"See?" I smiled, adjusting my lab coat. There was nothing wrong with his powers.

Suddenly, a superhero on a wheelchair came barreling into me from behind, knocking me down.

"Step forward, Cinnamon!" Timeline exclaimed. Kaz did as he was told, only to be hit to the ground when a superhero on a gurney knocked into him.

"You are safe now." Timeline told him. "Dave! Step forward."

Instead of stepping forward, Dani took a big step backwards, narrowly missing the gurney that flew past her.

"You are safe now." Timeline told her, oblivious to the fact that she ignored his instructions.

"You were saying, Ollie?" She questioned, crossing her arms and looking down at me.

**Dani's POV**

After getting Ollie to double check my prescription, I walked back to Mesmira to give her her medicine. Once I was done with her, I headed back over to the guys, who were already talking with Timeline.

"So, how long have you been having problems with your psychic powers?" Ollie asked, looking at the superhero.

"A few weeks." He admitted. "But I waited to come in until my cousin Horace's day off."

"How come?" I asked, leaning against the edge of his bed.

'We don't get along." He replied. At the look of confusion on my face, he elaborated. "Typical family stuff. He loves bridges; I hate bridges. Enough said!"

"I just thought of something." Ollie said suddenly, turning to Kaz and I. "When the villain, Switchblade, stranded Timeline in the middle of the desert, his powers stopped working. What happens when you're stranded in the desert?"

"Well, first you hide behind a cactus like this." Kaz raised one arm and pointed the other downwards to demonstrate. "And then you get so hungry that you think a tortoise is slowly moving hamburger."

"Or, if you're not a cartoon…" My brother looked at me expectantly.

"Uh…you see a camel?" I suggested. He gave me a look. "Well, I guess you'd get really hot, seeing as it's a desert…"

"Right." Ollie nodded. "Which would make you to sweat a lot, causing you to lose electrolytes."

He grabbed a small, circular device off a nearby table and scanned Timeline with it. It beeped rapidly once he stopped, calculating the results.

"I was right. His sodium levels are way below normal." Ollie stated, looking at the device's screen.

"Nurse, start a 20-mililiter saline drip, stat!" Kaz instructed. The nurse, Terri, nodded and set to work. Kaz grinned. "I love saying 'stat'. I wonder what it means."

"I feel better already." Timeline told Ollie. "Bless you."

My brother smiled. "No need to thank us." He replied.

"No, you're about to sneeze like a tiny kitten, and it's adorable." Timeline said. As if on cue, Ollie let out a tiny sneezing noise.

"Well check in on you later, Boris." I told the superhero before stepping over to the counter to input his information into the system.

"This is great." Kaz grinned.

"How so?" Ollie asked, looking at him as he reached for a tissue.

"Ms. Kessler, the English teacher, does this thing where she randomly calls on kids and puts them on the spot. I wonder if Timeline can tell me when she's going to call on me." Kaz explained.

"Or you could, you know, do your homework." Ollie pointed out.

"And risk learning things but not being called on? That's crazy talk!" Kaz retorted.

"Just be careful, Kaz." I cautioned, looking up. "I've seen enough time travel movies to know that messing with the future only causes problems."

"Yeah, the last thing I need is to somehow end up being my own father." Ollie added. I wrinkled my nose.

"Ew, no." I retorted. Ollie shrugged and walked back over to the Crusher so the hero could sign his release papers, while Kaz headed back over to Timeline to make his request. I turned to talk to Skylar, wanting to discuss her classes, but instead caught the tail end of the SNN news report.

"…Human Blade and Clone Master, along with their sidekicks, saved thirty-two people on the Benjamin Franklin Bridge earlier today after a portion of it collapsed," The news lady's voice over proclaimed, while footage of the heroes was shown on screen. There were couple of blobs, one red and one yellow, near the back of the bridge, cutting open cars to help people out, while multiple dark and light green blobs were leading people to safety.

"Hey, I heard about that. Our newscasters were saying it was blind luck that no one got hurt." I hummed.

"Must have erased the victims' memories." Skylar decided. I nodded, then frowned.

"Hey, how come not every superhero has a sidekick? Clone Master and Human Blade do." I questioned.

"Most of us find them a liability. They're easy to capture, and often distracting." Skylar reasoned. "So, what classes do we have together…"

**Oliver's POV**

"You look tired." I commented when I found Alivia hanging at our lockers, the next morning. She nodded, clutching her coffee mug tighter.

"Didn't sleep well?" Dani guessed. Alivia shook her head.

"No, Dad made me work out with him yesterday. Guess I'm still wiped." She replied. Jordan walked over to us.

"Hey, you guys haven't seen Gus, have you?" She questioned as I opened my locker to dump my backpack in. We all shook our heads and she grinned. "Thank God. He's been trying to bug me all weekend."

"Hey Oliver, hey Dani!" We heard Skylar exclaimed. We all turned in time to see her do two cartwheels before heading over to us.

"Who's Flippy Longstocking?" Jordan questioned, crossing her arms and leaning against the lockers.

"This is our new friend sky-Connie." Dani corrected herself quickly. "Connie Valentine."

"She is from outer space-state!" I said the last word loudly, trying to cover up my mistake. "Out of state."

"It's nice to meet you, Connie." Alivia held out her hand to shake. Skylar shook it, a confused look on her face.

"We've met." She reminded the red head. Alivia stared at her.

"What?" She questioned.

"On Friday. The carnival?" Skylar said. Alivia's face brightened.

"Oh, right. So sorry. It's just been a crazy few days." She explained sheepishly. "It's uh…good to see you again, Connie?"

"You too." Skylar chuckled. Jordan frowned.

"You look so familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?" She asked. I glanced subconsciously at my open locker door, where there was a picture of Skylar as Skylar Storm hanging.

"Of course now. Where could you possible know her from?" Dani questioned, subtly closing my locker for me. She gave me a pointed look, clearly telling me to get rid of the picture when I got the chance, then turned to Skylar. "So, what'd you have first period?"

"American History." Skylar replied. I looked at her imploringly.

"So how was it? You find everything okay?" I asked, wanting to make sure she was comfortable here. She beamed back at me cheerfully.

"It was great! I met this really cool guy, and he convinced me to join his club!" She told me excitedly. My face fell, disappointed. Who was she talking about? "Oh, here he comes now."

I looked around, expecting to see one of the jocks or something, but instead saw Gus strutting towards us.

"Connie, you've got something on your shoulder…" He mentioned, walking up to her and putting his arm around her. "My arm."

Skylar, Jordan, Dani, and Alivia all started laughing. Skylar because she and Gus were messing around, and the others because they knew that Gus flirting with Skylar was ticking me off.

"Yep." Skylar nodded, that smile still on her face. "He invited me to join the marching band."

"Really?" My voice seemed a little too high, but it was the best I could do to fake that I was happy about this. Skylar opened her backpack – one of Dani's old ones – and pulled out a tambourine. "Is this called a booty? Because he told me I should stand out front and shake mine."

"I did say that, didn't I?" Gus smiled, his arm still around Skylar's shoulder.

"Bye guys." Skylar smiled at us before she and Gus walked away.

"How on Earth does Connie think Gus is cool?" I demanded, looking at my friends.

"I don't know, but this is fantastic!" Jordan exclaimed. "I've wanted to get Gus off my scent for years! Especially at marching band! I've tried disguises, smoke screens, even look-alike Jordan decoys."

"What?" Alivia frowned at her. Jordan nodded at someone behind her.

"There's one now." She said. Sure enough, the girl walking behind us was dressed just like Jordan. Hell, her hair even looked the same. "Looking good, Amanda."

Amanda gave Jordan a thumbs up and continued walking. Alivia watched her go, a strange look in her eyes. "I'm so getting myself one of those."

"You should – they're useful." Jordan suggested. "See ya."

Jordan walked away after that, heading towards her next class. Alivia checked her phone.

"I gotta go." She said regretfully. "My dad's got a meeting with the principal, and I'm supposed to be there."

"Already in trouble? Dang, I thought I was the bad influence." Dani pouted. Alivia chuckled.

"No, it's just some new student thing." She assured us. "And you'll always be the bad influence of the two of us, Dani."

"That's the plan." Dani smiled, watching her go. I sighed.

"I can't believe Skylar thinks Gus is cool." I said again, this time a lot more defeated than angry. Dani smiled sympathetically at me and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Relax. Skylar's been at school for less than two hours – she doesn't know what cool is. She'll get over her fascination with Gus and the marching band soon, then come back to us." She reassured me. "Gus won't be the reason you'll never get a date with her."

"Thanks." I smiled at her. She nodded, then began to head off to her next class. Then what she said hit me. "Wait, what do you mean I'll never get a date with her?!"

**Dani's POV**

"Wait, Gus and S-Connie?" Kaz chuckled. "Oliver must be pissed."

"You can say that again." I agreed just as the classroom door clicked shut.

"Class has begun, no talking." Ms. Kessler announced. "Danica, please turn around to face the front."

"Fine." I sighed, turning around in my seat. Ms. Kessler began to teach, so many of fell back into our regular routines. Kaz pulled out a magazine, while I grabbed my phone and started playing Flappy Bird on my phone. Even Alivia, who got back to class seconds before it started, wasn't paying attention, instead choosing to doodle on a piece of paper.

"Danica!" I jumped, startled. Ms. Kessler was looking down at me expectantly, but I had no idea what she wanted.

"Hi?" I smiled sheepishly, glancing at the clock. Half an hour into class already. Shoot.

"Can you name two of Charles Dickens' books?" She questioned, sounding annoyed.

"Uh…" Ollie was right – I should probably pay attention in class. "Tom Sawyer and Tale of Two Cities?" I guessed, naming the first two books I could think of.

"Tom Sawyer was written by Mark Twain." She deadpanned. I looked at her.

"Wait, I was right about the Tale of Two Cities thing?" I questioned before grinning. "Cool!"

Suck it Ollie. I don't need to pay attention.

"Phone." She held out her hand and I handed it over, sighing. "You can have this back when class is over."

"Yes miss." I slouched over in my seat, annoyed at having to actually listen to her.

"In the world of Dickens," she continued her less, pacing the classroom, "children's lives were dark and miserable…otherwise known as the good old days."

"Let's re-create those conditions with a pop oral quiz," she started back towards my corner of the classroom, but I knew that she was looking for Kaz, not me. "Kaz!"

He didn't look up, even as she continued to speak. "Finish this quote. 'It was the be-'"

"'It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.'" He said, putting down the magazines and removing his headphones, "'It was the age of wisdom; it was the age of foolishness. It was epoch of belief; it was the epoch of incredulity. It was the season of light; it was the season of darkness.' Kind of a run on sentence, if you ask me."

Everyone in the class, Liv and I included, was staring at Kaz, stunned. Wow, I guess Timeline must have agreed to help him out. Damn…I wish I'd gone to the hero.

Ms. Kessler cleared her throat. "That was shockingly correct, Kaz." She admitted reluctantly. "Now, when was-"

"Charles Dickens was born on February 7th, 1812 in Portsmouth, England, which is situated 64 miles southwest of London, or 103 kilometers, for you fans of the metric system." He answered smugly, not giving her a chance to finish her question.

Ms. Kessler's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. She wasn't used to Kaz answering questions in general, and didn't like the fact that he was actually getting all of hers right. "All right. What character still wears a faded wedding dress after being left-"

"Ms. Havisham from  _Great Expectations._ " Kaz replied. "Oh, and, uh, speaking of wedding dresses, you might not want to spend too much on yours, because your fiancé, Bruce, will be breaking off the engagement tonight."

"Kaz!" Alivia hissed, trying to warn him not to push things too far. He ignored her.

"It's all for the best though, because on Tuesday, he gets arrested for identity theft. So you might want to cancel your credit cards." With that, he put his headphone back in and resumed blasting the music.

Ms. Kessler glared at him for a moment, then stalked back to her desk and assigned us some quiet work to do. I guess she didn't feel much like teaching after Kaz embarrassed her like that.

**Oliver's POV**

I walked into the gym, looking around. The marching band was supposed to meet here during lunch to practice for the upcoming basketball game. "Hello Oliver." Alivia beamed at me, skipping over to me. I looked at her, surprised.

"You're part of band?" I questioned. She nodded and held up her saxophone.

"I like music." She replied. "And since there's no music program here, marching band is the next best thing."

"Huh." I hummed, looking around her. "Hey, you haven't seen Connie, have you?"

"Uh, yeah." She nodded before turning around and pointing towards the back of the group of students. "She's right back there, with Gus."

Sure enough, she and Gus were chatting happily, the shorter boy holding a long, brass trombone.

"How could Connie possibly like Gus?!" I demanded.

"Maybe she finds his weirdness interesting?" The red head shrugged.

"Hey guys." Jordan walked up to us. She looked at Alivia, surprise. "Hey, weren't you just in my English class? How'd you get here before me?"

"I took your advice on getting a fake me. Except, instead of avoiding people, I'm avoiding class." Alivia smirked. Jordan nodded appreciatively.

"Well done, grasshopper. I never would have guessed that it wasn't you. Who was it?" She questioned.

"Abigail." Alivia replied. Jordan nodded.

"Huh. Good idea." She replied. "Oh, by the way, Dani was looking for you, Oliver."

"She probably wants to me to go over her homework or something. I'll catch up with her later." My sister often had me double check her work. Jordan shrugged.

"I'm going to bail. Amanda left early, so there's no one to distract Gus." She told us before quickly slipping out of the room. Gus and Skylar walked over to us, smiling.

"Guys," Skylar giggled, "look what Gus can do."

Gus picked up his instrument, but instead of blowing air into it through his mouth like a normal person, he blew it through his nose. Skylar laughed when he did, clearly amused.

"What can I say? Chicks dig the nose trombone." He told me. Skylar nodded.

"We do." She agreed.

"Not all of us." Alivia mentioned.

"Marching band is the best." Skylar grinned at me cheerfully. I glanced at her, suddenly getting an idea.

"It sure looks like it." I agreed. "Which is why I, too, would like to join."

"You want to be in the band?" Alivia questioned skeptically. I nodded.

"Sign me up." I insisted. Gus considered it.

"Do you play the oboe?" He asked. I scoffed.

"Yes. I am a great oboer." I lied. Wait, was that the right word? "Oboebian? Oboe-baggins?" Deciding that it didn't matter, I turned back to Gus. "I play the oboe."

"Well, we have pretty high standards in the M.B." Gus warned. "Let me see you march."

I turned to the side and began to march in place, but it wasn't good enough for Gus. "Double time." He ordered. I began to march faster. "Triple time! And knees up!" I was running on the spot now, making my knees go as high as I could. "Now spin!"

I spun around while still running/marching. "Faster!" Gus shouted. "Like a dreidel!"

I stopped, staring at him. "It's a spinning top. Popular on the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah." He explained, before motioning for me to continue. I started spinning/running/marching in place until he shouted, "Now drop into a split!"

I fell, one leg going forwards and the other going backwards. I'm not going to lie – it hurt…a lot. "Not bad. You show real promise." Gus, at least, sounded impressed. "Unfortunately, we don't have any oboes in marching band."

He walked away as I climbed to my feet. Alivia sighed.

"I could have told you that before you did the splits." She mentioned before becoming distracted. "Oh, um. I gotta go. I wanted to talk to Norrie before practice starts."

She disappeared without another word, jogging after the dark haired girl. Skylar turned to look at me.

"Oliver, it's probably that you're not in the band." She told me. "Nothing personal, but I want to carve my own path here. I don't wanna just be 'Oliver's friend'."

I bit back a dark chuckle. "Believe me, I don't want you to 'just be Oliver's friend' either." I replied bitterly.

"Hey Connie!" Gus shouted suddenly. We both looked to where he was standing at the other side of the gym, still carrying his trombone. "If you thought nose trombone was cool, check this out." He lowered the end of the trombone so it was just under his butt, and played it.

Skylar laughed while I looked on in disgust. "Isn't he the coolest?" She exclaimed before heading over to him.

**Dani's POV**

"It's so not fair. She had no right to give me detention!" Kaz exclaimed, annoyed.

"You told her that her fiancé was going to leave her and steal her money. I think you deserved it, Kaz." I commented as we walked through the halls. He scowled. "Hey, on the bright side, you got an A on a pop quiz. When's the last time that happened?"

"Never." He admitted, grinning as we walked into the rec room. Timeline was sitting on the couch, eating Chinese food. There was a card on the table, a few colorful balloons attached. "Hey Timeline. Thanks for telling me the future. I totally aced my pop quiz."

"Well, it's almost the least I could do. I tried to do less, but you wouldn't let me." He replied coolly.

"Hey, since you told Kaz the future, could you tell me mine?" I inquired, smiling at him the way I usually did when I wanted something from someone. "Maybe what I'm getting for Christmas so I know whether to be good or not?"

"Here's something you might find interesting." Timeline told me, getting up. "In fifteen minutes, your brother, Oliver, will be in mortal danger."

Kaz and I stared at him. "What? That's terrible!" I exclaimed.

"Well, you won't have to grieve for long." The hero assured us.

"Oh, why not?" Kaz questioned.

"Because in sixteen minutes, the apocalypse will be upon us." Timeline continued.

"I really hope you're talking about the X-Men character." I groaned, knowing he probably wasn't.

"No. Life as we know will cease to exist." Timeline told us. He gasped suddenly, seeing more of the future. "And it's all your fault for making me tell you about that pop quiz." He pointed at Kaz.

"You said it wouldn't be the end of the world!" Kaz accused, upset.

"So I was wrong; it's not the end of the world." He shrugged.

"Technically, it is." I pointed out. "Seriously dude, you gotta stop using that expression. You clearly don't know what it means. The world is literally ending!"

Timeline suddenly screamed. "Thank you for finally understanding how serious this is." I grumbled.

"It's deadly serious," Timeline agreed, "but that's not why I screamed."

I was about to ask why he did scream, but was startled when the balloons behind me suddenly pop. "Ah!" Kaz and I both jumped, having forgotten they were in the room.

"See, that's why I screamed." Timeline told us. Kaz looked at the balloons, shook his head, then turned to Timeline.

"Wait, what do you mean the apocalypse will come in sixteen minutes?" Kaz demanded. "How?"

"Crimson Demon is preparing to launch an all-out assault on humanity. And it's fifteen minutes now." Timeline explained. We both frowned at him. No, that didn't make sense.

"Crimson Demon? The evil emperor of fire?" Kaz questioned. "But he's not powerful enough."

"Computer, show me Crimson Demon." I instructed, walking over to the training pad.

"Showing 'Clemson Dragon'." A picture of a dragon appeared on the screen.

"Let me try." Kaz told me. "No, Crimson Demon."

"Showing 'Scrimmridge Demlon'." The computer responded.

"Those aren't even words! Why would it think I said that?" Kaz exclaimed in frustration.

"You just need to enunciate." Timeline explained. He cleared his throat. "Crim-son de-mon."

"Showing 'Crimson Demon'." The computer finally said, a picture of the villain appearing on the screen, right next to his stats and information.

"See? Kaz was right." I pointed at three pictures sitting beside the one of Crimson Demon. "Crimson Demon can't attack without his three brothers: Blue Demon, White Demon, and Matt Demon." Timeline looked at me, so I sighed. "He's the cute one."

"Not really." Kaz told me. "Anyway, in Tecton issue 45, Tecton trapped the brothers in the lower dimension."

"Well they're about to escape." Timeline informed us.

"How?" I demanded. "The portal can't be opened unless three conditions are met."

"First, 'the fool becomes the wise man', second 'night falls during the day', and third, 'the chord of discord is struck'." Kaz remembered.

"And you fulfilled the first condition when you got a perfect score on your pop quiz." Timeline pointed out. Realization crossed Kaz's face.

"'The fool becomes the wise man'." He quoted. He glanced at me. "I can't argue with that."

"And because the first condition was triggered at your school, that is where the first rip in the portal will open." Timeline informed us. "The other two conditions will soon follow."

"This is a nightmare." I murmured.

"We have to save Oliver and avoid apocalyptic doom." Kaz insisted, beginning to race out of the room. He stopped when the computer once again spoke up.

"Showing 'coconut spittoon'." It announced.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, if the world doesn't end, we are so fixing that." I muttered, pushing past Kaz and Timeline on my way out the door.

**Oliver's POV**

"Jordan!" I exclaimed, catching sight of the girl, standing by her locker, dressed in her marching band uniform. I'd been hoping to find Alivia, since she was more likely to help, but Jordan was the first person I spotted. "Hey, Jordan, I know how much you hate doing things for others."

"Ah, it's the worst." She agreed, disgusted by the very thought.

"But I was hoping you could maybe help me keep Gus away from Connie?" I continued hopefully before adding. "For her own good."

"Uh, no thanks. I'm staying far, far away from that little freak. Gus, I mean." She added, not wanting me to think she meant Connie. She walked away as Alivia walked down the hallway.

"Liv, thank goodness!" I exclaimed, jogging over to her.

"What, is everything alright?" She questioned, looking at me in concern. I nodded.

"Yeah, I just need a favor." I replied. She nodded. "I need you to help me keep Gus away from Connie. I'd do it myself, but I'm not in marching band."

Alivia looked at me skeptically for a moment, then smiled. "Wait a minute. I know what this is about. You have a crush on Connie." She teased.

"What? No!" I scoffed.

"Yes you do." She laughed. "Look at your nostrils. Every time you lie, they flare."

"Come on, boys! What are you doing to me?" I demanded, glaring at my nose.

"I'd like to help you, Oliver." The Irish girl told me. "But I can't keep an eye on her at all times."

"Just when you see them alone together…" I began.

"Go bother them?" She guessed. I nodded slowly. "Very well, but like I said, I can't be solely focused on them all the time."

"I know. Thank you." I smiled at her. She began to walk back into the gym, waving at me as she left.

Unfortunately, Alivia was right. She couldn't keep an eye on them at all times. So, I needed a way in there. But how?

One of the eleventh graders at the school walked past me, dressed in the school mascot's uniform – a knight in shining armor – heading to his locker, and I suddenly had an idea. "Hey! Philip! Wait up!" I called, running after him.

**Dani's POV**

Kaz and I raced to the school, but were forced to wait outside while Timeline found himself a Normo disguise. After pacing around for a few more seconds, I sighed impatiently.

"What time is it?" I asked, glancing at Kaz. He was about to answer when he suddenly saw someone behind me.

"I know you had to find a disguise, but why did you pick that?" He questioned. I turned around to see Timeline walking towards us in a bright, white suit. "The world's ending in five minutes. You want me to get buried in a trench coat?"

"Screw this. I'm going to go find Ollie." I told Kaz before starting towards the door. 'd just opened the front door when Timeline called me back.

"Wait! I'm getting a vision!" He exclaimed, stopping me. "The next condition is about to be met. 'Night falls during the daytime'."

I released the door handle, letting the door close with a clang, and walked back over to him and Kaz. Kaz was looking at the sky, confused.

"I don't get it. It's totally bright outside." Kaz mumbled, shaking his head.

"Would you wait one second? Kids today; they have no attention span." Timeline grumbled before putting his hands on me and Kaz's heads. "Look."

A weird, mist-like cloud appeared before my eyes, the mist creating what seemed like a live feed of the gymnasium. The marching band was in the middle of rehearsal, their music blaring. Skylar and Gus were right at the front of the group, Skylar with a baton in his hands and Gus playing his trombone.

Just as they appeared to be in the middle of their performance, the school's mascot – a knight – stepped between the two, dancing. Both Skylar and Gus looked confused as to what he was doing, but played on. Then, the knight, likely not accustomed to the uniform, tripped and fell.

Suddenly, it made sense. The knight fell, during the daytime. "Oh, the knight in shining armor falls." Kaz said aloud. "I did not see that coming."

"Yeah, words that sound the same but are spelt different are tricky for us future-seers." Timeline admitted. "So is the weather. No one can predict it. No one."

"C'mon." Kaz grabbed me by the hand and led me into the school, Timeline following shortly behind us.

**Oliver's POV**

Skylar, Alivia, and Jordan dragged me out of the middle of the gym, not giving me the chance to try and get up. I hadn't meant to trip – but the shoes were bigger than I'd expected, and I wasn't used to them.

"Philip, are you okay?" Skylar asked gently. I pushed myself up, accidently knocking my helmet off. "Oliver? What are you doing in there?"

"Um…" I panicked, trying to think of a reason that didn't make me sound like a stalker.

"I told you I wanted to do my own thing, and then you dress up so you can follow me around?" Skylar didn't give me the chance to explain myself.

"Yeah, dude, you're making this weird." Gus agreed, coming up behind me. "Now if you'll excuse us, I have a nose trombone solo."

He led Skylar away then. Alivia gave me a sympathetic look, but followed them back into the marching band's sequence.

"I normally don't like to help," Jordan came up to me, "but yeah, this is for everyone's benefit." She pulled an air freshener out from her pocket and hung it around my ear. She wasn't wrong about it helping – I didn't know when this suit was last washed, but I did know that there was a more than likely chance that Philip went to the washroom in it, judging by the smell.

"Ollie!" I turned around to see Dani, Kaz, and Timeline – who was dressed in a white suit for no apparent reason – running towards. "You're not dead yet." My sister sighed in relief. "Awesome."

"Thanks?" I frowned, confused. "What are you guys doing here? And why is Timeline dressed like that?"

"The world's about to end!" Kaz exclaimed. I stared at them, thinking it was a joke at first. But when neither of them cracked a smile, I realized they were serious.

"What?" I demanded. Dani turned me around and pointed at a red demon mascot.

"Crimson Demon's in that mascot costume." She told me. I looked at her.

"You sure?" I questioned skeptically. She nodded.

"I saw his mask fall off; I'm sure." She replied.

"Crimson Demon?" Skylar hissed, running back over to us.

"He's trying to open the portal to the lower dimension to release his demon brothers." Kaz explained quickly.

"We have to call in some superheroes for help!" I exclaimed.

"There's no time." Timeline told us gravely. Just then, Gus played a very loud, discordant sound with his trombone.

"And there's the chord of discord." Dani sighed. Before anyone else could say anything, an orange, fiery hole appeared just above the bleachers, growing bigger every second. The devil mascot disappeared in a burst of flames, revealing that it was indeed Crimson Demon underneath the mask.

The demon was tall, and his skin was colored blood red. He wore a black and grey-ish vest, with black gloves and pants. There was a staff in his hand, the same color as his clothing, a small ball of fire burning away at the top of it.

"The portal's opening!" Skylar exclaimed.

"We have to do something." Kaz insisted.

"I have a theory." I looked at Timeline. "Maybe if you envision the future, while simultaneously recalling the past, you can temporarily freeze the future."

"That makes no sense." Dani stated.

"Do you have a better idea?" I demanded. She hesitated.

"Never mind. Carry on." She told me, backing off.

"It might work…Or it might tear a hole in the universe." Timeline reasoned. "But if that happens, it's not the end of the world."

"It is! Stop saying that!" Dani exclaimed, apparently having had enough of that expression.

"Uh, guys?" Alivia walked over to us, staring at the hole. "What is-?"

Timeline didn't wait for her to finish talking before he tested out my theory. Suddenly, everyone in the gym froze, except me, Skylar, Kaz, Dani, Timeline and Crimson Demon.

"Why didn't we freeze?" Skylar questioned, confused. "Or him?" She added, looking at Crimson Demon. He was glaring at us, his teeth bared.

"You're criticizing me?" I questioned. "I just invented a way to freeze time!"

"I can't hold this for long!" Timeline exclaimed, reminding me of the situation.

"You can predict the future." Kaz said, turning to face him. "Tell us what to do."

"Well, for starters, I suggest we all take one big step backward." He decided. We all stepped back – Dani pulling Alivia with her so that the red-head wouldn't be caught in any of the crossfire. We moved just in time too, narrowly avoiding being killed by the fireball Crimson Demon threw our way.

The demon jumped towards us, landing a step in front of us. "Kaz duck!" Timeline shouted. Kaz did as he was told, dodging a blow to the chest.

"Oliver, punch him!" Timeline exclaimed. I slugged him as hard as I could, sending Crimson Demon back a few steps.

"Everybody jump!" We didn't need to be told twice. We leapt into the air, jumping right above the line of fire that Crimson Demon shot at our feet.

"Dani-" She didn't give Timeline the chance to say anything, already knowing what she should do. She spun around on one leg, using the other to kick him in the face. The strength of the hit knocked him back into the wall.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Skylar demanded, impressed.

"Mom made me take ballet until I was eight. I hated it, but I guess all that training left an imprint on my muscle memory." Dani shrugged. Skylar nodded, then looked at Crimson Demon.

"Alright, my turn." She decided. We all backed out of her way, knowing that when Skylar wanted to do something, it was better to just let her do it.

She unlatched her marching band hat, dropping it to the floor. She did a backwards cartwheel, avoiding a blast of fire from Crimson Demon's staff, who then charged at her. She waited until he was close enough, then kicked his staff out of the way. She ducked to avoid it when he tried to swing it at her again, and landed a harsh kick to his chest a moment after. He backed off a bit, but she followed, doing a handless cartwheel.

"Skylar! Kick him between the shoulder blades! It's his weak spot!" I shouted.

"It's where his demon parts are." Kaz explained.

She dodged another one of his blows, then punched him hard in the shoulder before spinning around to get behind him.

"Ollie." Dani ran up to me, holding a large marching band-issue drum that she must have stolen from Kirstie. She held it up and I took the other end, grinning when I figured out what her plan was.

"Skylar!" I shouted, hoping that she'd understand the plan without needing an explanation.

She got behind Crimson Demon and, after flipping off the wall, she kicked him as hard as she could in the back. It send him running straight into our drum, trapping his arms.

Kaz grinning, kicking him in the butt and pushing him towards the portal. Between Kaz's kick and the strength of the gravity from the lower dimension pulled him in, the portal disappearing behind him. He was trapped.

Timeline dropped his hands, time resuming. Jordan glared at Gus for blowing his trombone in her ear. Kirstie looked confused as to why she was no longer holding a drum. And Alivia continue talking as if nothing had ever happened.

"-that thing…what?" The red head looked around, confused. "I, uh…"

"What's up, Liv?" Dani asked. She looked around in confusion.

"I…" She looked at us, then at Timeline, then sighed. "Never mind."

She walked back over to the main part of the marching band, and we all grinned at each other. "We did it." Kaz exclaimed.

"I knew all along that you would." Timeline admitted.

"Then why didn't you just tell us that?" Kaz questioned.

"I didn't want to spoil the ending for you." Timeline responded. Kaz and Dani both looked at him annoyed.

"Seriously?" My sister demanded. He smirked. "You suck, dude."

She and Kaz left, Timeline following them out. I sighed and looked at Skylar. "Look, Skylar, I'm sorry for trying to horn in on your territory. I just-"

"I know exactly why you did it." She snapped, frustrated. I froze.

"You do?" Damn, did Alivia say something to her? Or Dani? She nodded.

"It's so obvious. You are totally, one hundred percent…convinced that I can't take care of myself in the Normo world." She exclaimed.

"Yes. Yes, that's exactly why." I lied, covering my nose so she couldn't see my nostrils flare.

"Look, Oliver," Skylar sighed, "I know you're just looking out for me, but I'll be fine."

"Okay." I nodded, before frowning. "But I have to ask, why would you ever want to go out with Gus?"

"I don't want to go out with him." She seemed genuinely confused by why I would think that. "I've just been a little homesick lately, and he reminds me of a dorenbosch."

"A what?" I demanded. She pulled her phone out of her boot.

"The pets we have on my planet." She explained, showing me a picture. I had to admit, if you took away the pointy ears and horns, it would look exactly like Gus.

"Wow. The resemblance is uncanny." I nodded. "And disturbing."

"Look at him. He's so cute." Skylar cooed as Gus walked back over to us. "I just wish he had a little tail."

"I do. Wanna see it?" Gus asked. "I keep it in my wallet."

He walked away with his arm around Skylar's shoulder, but for the first time that day, I didn't feel jealous of their bond.

**xxx**

"Thank you for your help." Timeline told me. We were back at Mighty Med, standing in the rec room. Kaz was off helping another patient and Dani was doing some busy work that Horace wanted done before he got back from his vacation. "And tell my cousin Horace that I don't forgive him for being late to the family reunion."

"Oh, when was it?" I asked, curious.

"It's next month." He replied. He started to walk away.

"Before you go…" I stopped him. "Look, I know I probably shouldn't ask but is there any chance you can tell me what's going to happen between me and Skylar?"

"I see her falling for you in a big way." He predicted. My eyes lit up and I couldn't help the smile that came to my face.

"Really? That's amazing! Thank you!" I exclaimed. I started towards the door, intending on finding Skylar, but as it turns out, she found me first.

She was cartwheeling into the room and I guess she hadn't expected anyone to be there, because she cartwheeled straight into me, falling on top of me as we both fell. "Ow." I complained as she rolled off of me, stopping when she lying on her back, her head lying on my arm.

"Sorry, I meant falling on you in a big way." Timeline corrected himself.


	6. Alan's Reign of Terror

**Oliver's POV**

"Face it Kaz; you're just wrong this time." I insisted as we walked into the rec room. Dani was sitting in one of the chairs by the TV, writing something down on a clipboard while Skylar jumped rope. Even though she wasn't a superhero anymore, she still kept up with her training. It was her way of still feeling like she's a superhero, and I think Dani was beginning to appreciate the company on her morning runs, so it kinda worked out for both girls.

I noticed a man in a Mighty Med-issue maintenance uniform kneeling by the TV, fiddling with wires underneath.

"What's going on?" Kaz inquired.

"Oh, he's installing a new security system for the hospital." Dani replied, not looking up. "It's really high-tech and stuff. Still in the testing phase."

"Which is why Horace doesn't want us to touch it." Skylar added. Immediately, Kaz reached out to touch it. I slapped his hand away, then looked at Skylar and Dani.

"Settle an argument for us." I requested.

"If this is still about whose feet are more attractive, leave me out of it." Dani responded, tilting her head back to look at us.

"No, this argument is much more important." I insisted. "Kaz says that villains are born evil and I say that they become evil because they're mistreated and humiliated during their life. What do you guys think?"

"Ollie's right. Sorta." Dani replied.

"What, no he's not!" Kaz protested. I smirked.

"Thanks D-wait. What do you mean 'sorta'?" I questioned. She shrugged, turning the chair around so she could face us.

"Well, no one is born evil. Supervillains are turned evil, but not necessarily through humiliation or mistreatment. Look at the Reverse Flash, or Mr. Freeze, or Nightstrike. They're all villains who turned to the dark side because of events that happened in their life." She reasoned. "So, you're right in saying that supervillains are turned evil, but I don't think their motives are limited to humiliation or mistreatment."

"What do you think, Skylar?" Kaz questioned, obviously hoping to get someone on his side.

"Well, not all villains are the same, and sometimes it's impossible to tell if someone's evil until it's too late." She replied thoughtfully.

"There's always signs." Kaz dismissed it. "For example, if you cackle evilly while stroking a pet, then you might be a pet, you might be a villain."

"Or if your favorite phrases are: 'Victory is mine!', 'You'll rue the day,' or 'So, we meet again,', you might be a villain." I agreed.

"Hey Alan." Dani greeted as the sweater-vest loving boy came into the room, riding a tricycle. There was a mound of white fur in the basket hanging off the handlebars.

"My uncle Horace said I couldn't ride a unicycle, but look at me! I'm riding three of them at once!" He proclaimed proudly. "I did it! Victory is mine. He'll rue the day he doubted me!" He looked at us, acknowledging for the first time that we were in the room. "So, we meet again."

"I think Alan might be a villain." Kaz mentioned, collapsing into the chair next Dani as we watched Alan bike around the room.

"No, Alan may be annoying, but he's not a villain." I told him. "Now, if Horace keeps putting him down all the time, he might become a villain. You know what, I'm going to go talk to Horace about treating Alan with more respect."

"Don't!" Skylar stopped me. "You know what we do on my planet to people who butt into other people's business? We take them to the circus."

"That doesn't sound so bad." I grinned. I'd always liked the circus.

"Circus is our word for guillotine." She informed me.

"Well, that doesn't sound fun." Dani hummed. I sent her a look as Alan biked closer to us.

"Come Mittens," he petted the fur in the basket as he biked. He laughed evilly as he biked around, clearly enjoying himself.

"Evil cackle, check. Stroking a pet, check." Dani looked at me. "Oh, he's a villain."

"Not if I can help it." I wasn't going to let the way Horace treated Alan turn him into a villain. I walked over to him, smiling kindly. "Hey Alan, that's a cute cat."

Alan looked up at me, confused. "It's not a cat! It's my earmuffs! I call them 'Mittens'." He pulled the earmuffs out of the basket and put them over his ears. "C'mon Mittens, let's go continue planning for world domination."

He biked away after that, laughing to himself.

"Oh, right." Dani snapped her fingers. "I forgot. If your hobbies include planning world domination, you might be a villain."

**Xxx**

After having a very long conversation with Horace, I walked back into the main ER, feeling very proud of myself. "So, I talked to Horace about Alan, and it went very well." I announced, heading over to Skylar.

"Oh, I should give you a hug." She offered. I grinned.

"Okay." I replied. She raised one hand and slapped me upside the head. "Ow!" I complained. "Let me guess: that's a hug on your planet?"

"No, this is." She flicked me on the forehead.

"Ow!" I protested, rubbing my head.

"Why did you talk to Horace? I specifically told you not to butt in!" She snapped, annoyed.

"Don't worry; it's all good." I reassured her. "Horace agreed to give Alan more opportunities at the hospital to help build his self-esteem."

As if on cue, Alan walked into the room. "Excuse me! Fellow co-workers!" He called. "My Uncle Horace is at a medical conference on Neptune today and he's put me in charge while he's gone. I look forward to working with each and every one of you, and I promise to do my best."

I smiled, knowing that I'd done the right thing. "Another villain prevented; you're welcome world."

"Nice job." Skylar crossed her arms. "I should give you a hug."

I flinched back instantly, reaching up to cover my head. "Please don't!" I said quickly.

"Anyway, carry on and don't worry; nothing is going to change." Alan continued. He then reached into his pocket, pulled out a remote control, and hit a button. A roll of paper above the Mighty Med sign unrolled, covering the logo with a picture of Alan's face. "Now listen up, drones!" He shouted. I stared at him, stunned. "From now on, everything's going to change. Starting with…no more calling me Alan! Call me Chief Executive Senior Prime Minister International Supreme Overlord of Mighty Med."

Oops. "See what you did!" Skylar glared at me.

"C'mon. It'll be good for Alan." Maybe he was a little full of himself, but he wasn't evil. "It's one afternoon; how bad can it be?"

"You two!" Alan called us over. "Reflexor's recovering upstairs and he needs some organic milk."

"Easy." I agreed. "No problem."

"Fresh organic milk." Alan insisted, pulling a metal bucket out from underneath a nearby bed. He handed it to me.

"Fine." I said reluctantly.

"Fresh, organic, whale milk." He added. "Killer whale milk. Serial killer whale milk."

I grimaced, turning back to Skylar as he left. "You were saying?" She questioned, crossing her arms.

**Dani's POV**

"I found a Blue Tornado one." Alivia hummed, looking through the box of comics she was going to. Skylar had sent me a text while we were on our lunch break, saying that Alan was taking over the hospital, so Kaz and I had decided to take the afternoon off before he could stop us. As a result, we were hanging at the Domain. Alivia and I were looking for some new reading material, while Kaz was attempting to win at some video game.

"They're having a sale on Mesmira comics." I mentioned to Kaz as I browsed through the comic book selection.

"Yes!" He shouted.

"I know. They're like half-off!" I agreed.

"No, not you." He told me. I looked up to see him grinning like a fool. "I just beat your high score on Asteroid Assassin."

"That's not me." I hummed, confused.

"Sure it isn't." He scoffed. "Read it and weep CutiePie15." He chuckled. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You really think I'd use CutiePie15 as a username?" I questioned skeptically. His face fell, realizing how out of character that would be for me.

"But if you're not CutiePie15, then who is?" He questioned.

"You beat my high score?!" Clyde demanded, walking over to us with a not-so-happy look on his face. "That was the most important thing in my life!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! More important than your brother, who makes you soup?" Wallace questioned. "You are so ungrateful! I can not believe I gave you my kidney…bean soup."

Clyde looked at him. "Hey, why do you always pause after you say the word kidney…bean soup? Wow, never mind. I do it too."

I rolled my eyes. "Clyde, don't take it so hard." I told the store owner. "Records are made to be broken."

"And so are windows." Kaz added. He chuckled nervously. "By the way, I broke your window."

Clyde was still upset. "Nobody beats CutiePie15. I want a re-match! I dare you to play me, and if I win, you're banished from the store forever."

Kaz smirked confidently. "Okay, but if I win, I get one of every Tecton collectible in the store for free."

Clyde hesitated. "Even the Tecton Tectons?"

"Even the Tecton Tectons." He agreed. Clyde considered it for a very long moment. Eventually, he nodded.

"Deal!" He agreed. "Seven P.M., tonight. Be there. Unless you're chicken…noodle soup. Why do I do that?"

He and Wallace walked away. Alivia and I turned to Kaz, concerned. "Kaz, are you sure about that? Those are pretty high stakes. Do you really think you can beat him?" I questioned. Clyde didn't often play video games during store hours, but I'd seen him partake in a tournament or two, and even I had to admit he was pretty good.

"No!" Kaz retorted nervously. "I stink at this game!"

Alivia frowned, confused. "Then how'd you break his record?"

"I was in one of those zones where you can do no wrong." Kaz shook his head helplessly. "Like the time I remembered all of my siblings' names, all ten of them."

I sighed. "Eleven."

"What?" Kaz looked at me.

"You said ten siblings. You have eleven." I reminded him. He gave me a sheepish smile.

"Right." He agreed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Look, if you're bad at the game, why'd you agree to the rematch?" She questioned, looking at him like he was an idiot. I sighed.

"Because Clyde dared him." I told her. "And when it comes to dares, Kaz has no common sense."

Kaz looked at me, annoyed. "I can't back down from a dare!" He protested. "I'm biologically incapable of it." Alivia hummed thoughtfully.

"I never knew that." She commented. I smirked, looking around. I caught sight of a little old lady looking over a display, probably looking for a gift for her grandchild or something.

"Hey Kaz," I smiled, turning to him. "I dare you to go kiss that little old lady on the cheek."

He looked at me. "I hate you somedays." He let me know before walking over to the old lady and boldly kissing her on the cheek. She stared at him for a moment before pulling a card out of her pocket and handing it to him. When Kaz looked at her, confused, she gave him a smile then left the store.

He walked back over to us. "She gave me her number." He said confused.

"You're kidding." Alivia laughed in disbelief, taking the paper from him. She looked it over, then laughed some more. "Kaz, she's a therapist."

"Really?" Kaz looked at her. The red-head nodded. "That makes so much sense."

"Hey." I took the card from her and slipped into Kaz's shirt pocket. "You should probably keep this."

**Oliver's POV**

"I can't believe Alan's making us wear these." Skylar complained, adjusting the sweater vest Alan had made mandatory for all employees to wear."

"It could be worse." I tried to assure her. She was about to argue when a hologram of Alan's face appeared above the circle of counters.

" _Good Alan to you."_  The recording began.  _"Here at Alan, our doctors, who will now be known as Alan, shall provide the best service to our patients, who will also be known as Alan. Have an Alan day!"_

"That's going to get old quickly." I muttered. Skylar turned to me, furious.

"You had to talk to Horace." She told me. "Now Alan is mad with power, and he's making us do all the worst jobs! It's all your fault, Oliver!"

"C'mon! Our jobs are not that bad." I reasoned. "Now grab the weed wacker – we have to go trim Gargantuan's nose hairs."

Alan walked up to us, smiling cheerfully. "Good Alan to you Alans." He greeted us. "I have good Alan. My reign as Alan as Alan will continue Alan Alan. Any Alans?

"I have an Alan." I replied. "What are you talking about?"

"Fine." He sighed. "My reign over this hospital will continue indefinitely."

"What?" Skylar demanded. "But Horace is supposed to be back tonight!"

"Oh, he'll be back tonight." He agreed before smiling cruelly. "But I tricked the Great Defender into slowing down Neptune's rotation so tonight, for my Uncle Horace, won't be for another sixty years."

He walked away, humming to himself. Skylar looked like she'd had enough.

"That's it! I am calling Horace." She decided, pulling out her cell phone. She dialed the number and brought it up to her ear, scowling when it failed to connect. "Ugh! Neptune has the worst reception!"

"Don't worry; I can save Alan before he turns into a full fledged villain." I promised her. "I just to need to talk to him, treat him with kindness and respect, and everything will be fine."

**Xxx**

Okay, so maybe things didn't go exactly as I planned. Half an hour later, I found myself trapped in Dimension Zero, my only way to communicate with Skylar and the rest of the outside world being a small window.

"So, how'd your talk go with Alan?" Skylar hummed, giving me an I-told-you-so look.

"Apparently, he doesn't like it when you think outside the box." I commented dryly.

**Dani's POV**

(After watching Kaz lose at the video game several times)

Once again, Kaz was killed on the video game. He'd been practicing all day, and every time, he lost before he got even a hundred points. I let out a groan, burying my face in my hands.

"Damn, Kaz, you really do suck at this." I muttered.

"You even spelled your name wrong." Alivia laughed lightly. "You put a percentage sign in there."

I raised my head, brushing my hair out of my eyes to see that she was right.

"I'm just nervous!" Kaz protested. I pushed myself off the couch.

"Okay, okay. Settle down K%Z." I smirked a little at his frustrated look. "Look, you just need to get back into your zone.

"How?" Kaz questioned.

"Name all your siblings!" Alivia suggested, trying to be helpful. Kaz nodded.

"Okay." He thought for a second, then began counting them off on his fingers. "Katie, Kenny, Kevin, Kaley, Kasey, Kyle, Karen, Kasey-"

"You already said Kasey." Alivia pointed out, interrupting him. He nodded.

"Yeah, there's two Kaseys. One's a guy, one's a girl." Kaz explained. "My parents just get lazy after the seventh kid. I've got a baby sister whose name is just K."

Clyde walked over to us then, a confident smirk on his face and a large fish in his hand. "So, Kaz, I've got a little riddle for you. What do you and this herring both have in common?" He tapped Kaz on his shoulders and forehead with the fish.

"We both smell like herring now?" Kaz guessed, raising an eyebrow.

"No, tonight you're both going to get smoked." Clyde announced. We all looked at him, confused. He sighed and quickly explained. "Herring is a fish commonly served smoked-you know what, I'm going to go get a salmon and try again."

"You're awfully confident for someone who's about to get his butt kicked." I said, walking up to Clyde. He was overconfident, and kind of annoying.

"Oh really?" Clyde asked me, his tone mocking me a little.

"Really." I agreed. I heard Alivia in the background, trying to get me to back off, but I continued quickly, not even thinking about what I was saying. "In fact, let's raise the stakes. If Kaz wins, Oliver, Kaz, and I all get memorabilia of our favorite superheroes."

"And if you lose, all three of you are banned from the store forever." Clyde added. And before I knew what I was doing or saying, I nodded.

"Bring it." I growled before any of my friends could stop me. Clyde looked past me, at Kaz.

"You better take your hide to a tanning salon because I am going to tan your hide." He paused. "Yeah, that makes sense."

The moment he was gone, Kaz turned on me. "Dani!" He exclaimed, exasperated.

"I'm sorry!" I cried. "Sorry, I kinda got caught up in the moment and I didn't think. I'm sorry."

Kaz sighed. "Yeah, well if I lose, you're going to be the one to tell Oliver why we can't come back here."

"If you lose." Alivia agreed. "But you can still win. You just need some practice. And maybe some luck."

"Hey, aren't the Irish supposed to be lucky or something?" I teased. She laughed lightly, unoffended, but proceeded to push me to the side a little.

**Oliver's POV**

After being stuck in Dimension Zero for over an hour, even I had to admit that Alan was evil. "Okay, I was wrong." I admitted to Skylar. She'd brought the Dimension Zero window into the rec room and turned it to face away from the door. "Alan was born evil. We have to end his reign or tyranny."

"Okay. But first, I was to try something." She reached out and spread her hand on the window. Though I couldn't tell what she was seeing, she smiled. "Cool! Dimension Zero has a zoom feature. Is anyone else in there?"

She began to slide her fingers across the window. The window would go black for a second, but each time, it lit back up, revealing Skylar's face. "Me. Me." I told her as she continued to swipe through the window (or windows?). "Still me. Please stop." She sighed, but did as I requested. "Now turn me around so I call rally the staff of Mighty Med to revolt! We have strength in numbers."

Skylar sighed and turned me around. To my genuine shock, the only other staff member in the room was Lizardman. "Where is everyone?" I questioned.

"They all left." Skylar explained. "Lizardman's the only one here because…well, where's he gonna go? He's a lizard-man."

"So!" Alan pushed into the room, followed by two of Mighty Med's security guards. "You sniveling ingrates are trying to take me down!"

"How did you know that?" Skylar demanded.

"Wouldn't you like to know." He replied.

Skylar looked at him. "I would."

"I overheard." He explained. "I was right outside, getting a snack from the vending machine."

"Oh, what'd you get?" Skylar as curiously.

"Wouldn't you like to know!" Alan said again.

Skylar looked at him. "Again, yes I would."

"Trail mix. I like salty-sweet." Alan admitted before going straight back to business. "Anyway, now I must punish you cowards for your acts of treason."

I scoffed. "What could you possibly do to make things worse than they already are?"

Alan snorted, amused. "Wouldn't you like to know."

Skylar gave him an annoyed look. "Seriously?"

"Fine. I'll show you." Alan decided.

**Xxx**

To be perfectly honest, Alan's punishment wasn't the worst thing I could think of. In fact, I was actually enjoying having Skylar's company now that she too was trapped in Dimension Zero. However, she didn't seem too pleased at the tight squeeze.

"You're right; this is worse." She complained as I laid my head on her shoulder.

"I don't know. It's not so bad." I hummed happily. Suddenly, Lizardman startled me from behind, as I'd forgotten that he had also been shoved in here at the same time as Skylar. "Ah! Dude, you're wrecking it!"

**Xxx**

After making sure that we were all secure in Dimension Zero, Alan had the guards bring us out into the main E.R.

"You have been found guilty of mutiny." He announced. "And the punishment is to be hung…on the wall."

"You're hanging us on the wall?" Skylar questioned as the guards removed a framed photograph of a bridge and replaced it with the Dimension Zero window. "What's so bad about that?"

"I'm going to have you hung slightly askew." He decided. One of the guards tipped the window to the side a bit, angling it, and all of Dimension Zero tipped too. It took me a moment to find my footing, as it wasn't the most comfortable position.

The guards handed Alan the picture of the bridge, unsure of what to do with it. "I hate bridges!" He shouted childishly, pushing it back into the guard's arms. "And now," Alan turned back to us, "to prevent future mutinies, I'm going to activate the new security system."

"It hasn't been tested yet!" I reminded him. "No one can touch it; Horace specifically forbid it."

"My Uncle Horace isn't in charge anymore. I am!" Alan snapped before raising his head. "Computer, activate the security system!"

There were two quick beeps, then a distinctly feminine voice responded. _"You must enter the correct password."_

"WHAT?" Alan demanded, angry and shocked. There was another ding.

" _Password accepted."_  The computer announced. Alan nodded, smirking.

"Security bots!" He called. Two black, robotic orbs floated down from the ceiling to hover right in front of him. "Make sure these prisoners do not escape from Dimension Zero."

The security bots either misunderstood Alan's instructions or had some kind of glitch, because they suddenly began to attack the E.R. They shot laser beams left and right, blasting things every where. Thankfully, there weren't any patients in the E.R. yet, and the real guards had fled the room, so there weren't many people to get hurt.

Alan ducked behind one of the counters, staring at the orbs in fear. "When my Uncle Horace gets back, he's going to kill me." He looked at us pleadingly. "You guys have to help me!"

"Never!" I retorted. "You humiliated us, and laughed at us, and made us milk a serial killer whale!"

He shrugged sheepishly, a half-guilty smile on his face. "You made us suffer, and now I will watch Horace make you suffer! Yes! You will snivel and cower before him!" I laughed.

Skylar looked at me, aghast. "That was an evil cackle. You're getting pleasure from his misfortune." She told me sternly. "You're turning into a villain."

"How dare you call me a villain!" I snapped, seriously offended. "You will rue the-oh dang it, I am a villain."

I looked at Alan, immediately feeling guilty. "Well, it's not too late for me." I decided. "Alan, let us out so we can help you."

He snatched a remote off the nearest counter and hit a button. Instantly, Skylar, Lizardman, and I fell out of Dimension Zero through the window, hitting the ground. Lizardman took one look at the security bots and ran for the hills, while Skylar and I climbed to our feet, already trying to think of a way to stop them.

Alan and I leapt behind the nearest counter as lasers continued to be shot our way, while Skylar ducked behind a nearby column. This was not going to be easy, that was for sure.

**Dani's POV**

I grimaced as we all watched Clyde's score rise higher and higher. Not only was he doing wonderfully at the game, but the competition had attracted a crowd. Why'd I have to open my big mouth earlier? Now Ollie, Kaz, and I were all going to get kicked out of the store.

"Yeah!" Clyde shouted victoriously as his new score appeared on the screen.

"It's a new high score!" Wallace announced for everyone to hear. Clyde smirked and looked in our direction.

"Let's see you beat that, Kaz!" He exclaimed. Kaz looked at him nervously, his hands shoved in his pockets to stop him from rubbing them together – a nervous habit of his I happened to notice. "Of course that's just an expression – I don't actually want to see you beat that, because that record is the most important thing in my life."

"Hey!" Wallace looked hurt. "You own a business."

"Co-own." Clyde corrected him. "I don't own it unless you die."

"Wow. That rolled off your tongue a little too easily." Wallace accused. Alivia looked at me, frowning.

"Do all twins fight like that?" She asked. I shook my head.

"No, just them." I assured her. At least, Ollie and I didn't fight like that. We'd get in some argument, maybe a little roughhousing when we were little, but never an actual fight.

"Alright Kaz, you're up!" Clyde announced, holding out the controller. "Enjoy this moment because it's going to be your last in this store, forever."

"I should have known I could never beat him." Kaz muttered. Alivia patted his shoulder.

"You'll do fine." She assured him. Kaz looked at her like she was crazy.

"I've only wasted, like, five years of my life on these things. He's wasted like fifty." He reasoned. Clyde looked at him, offended, but didn't comment.

"I don't want to hear any negative talk out of you; that's Jordan's thing." The Irish girl insisted. "Now go kick his ass so I don't have to listen to you, Oliver, and Dani pout about not being able to come in here again."

"I think that's the first time I've ever heard you swear." I hummed. She shrugged.

"You're a bad influence." She told me. I nodded.

"Good." I turned back to Kaz. "Look, just go out there, and don't totally humiliate yourself."

"Well, that's encouraging." He grumbled. I rolled my eyes.

"Just go." I pushed him gently towards the TV, knowing fully well that this was not going to end in our favor.

**Oliver's POV**

"That's it! I'm out of here!" Alan muttered beside me before running screaming from the room. The security bots continued to fire on us. I glanced as Skylar, who appeared to be trapped behind the column.

I bolted forward, sliding to my knees to avoid getting hit by a laser. I managed to hide behind a tray of medical equipment, near Skylar, but not quite close enough to hide in the same spot as her.

"These things are everywhere! What are we going to do?" She demanded.

"I have a plan." I told her. "Remember Vanquisher issue 217?"

If it had been Kaz or Dani, they would have known my plan right off the bat, just by being told the issue number. But Skylar just looked at me, confused. "I was in comic books, I don't read comic books!" She snapped.

Note to self: make Skylar read comic books. "Well, the Vanquisher was battling some very similar robots. They used thermal and motion sensors, so the Vanquisher confused their targeting systems, creating false heat signatur-"

"And this is why I don't read comic books." Skylar interrupted me. I sighed.

"Here's the plan." I told her. "You draw the bots' attention because you're so hot." She looked at me, and I quickly realized what I said. "I mean, your body temperature is higher than Normos."

"Sure." She didn't believe my correction for a moment, but I quickly continued.

"I'll use the surgical lasers and go all Asteroid Assassin on them. You ever play that game? It's awesome." I grinned.

"I was in video games. I don't play video games!" She snapped before leaping into action. She ran across the room, hopping over gurneys and ducking under lasers. She even managed to grab a metal tray and use it to deflect one of the lasers back at the security bot. The blow didn't destroy the machine, but it definitely did some damage. I grabbed one of the laser machines and ran to the side, taking a very well-aimed shot at them.

Unfortunately, the laser wasn't powerful enough to destroy the bots on its own, so I was going to have to get a few good shots in before I would be able to stop them. I ducked and rolled, before taking aim again, this time hitting the bot in such a way that it was hit off its path. It corrected itself quickly, but it was still an amazing shot.

Skylar did a flip over one of the counters, drawing the bot's fire. I slid forward, kicking my legs out in front of me instinctively, taking a shot. Thankfully, the shot hit it in just the right spot to deactivate it.

"Oliver behind you!" Skylar shouted suddenly. I quickly turned the weapon around in my hands, shooting it over my shoulder without looking. I smirked cockily when I heard the bot hit the ground with a clang.

"Wow." Skylar offered me a hand up. "Not bad for a Normo."

"All in a day's work." I replied, moving the laser blaster behind my back. My finger accidently hit the on button though, and even though the laser was only on briefly, it burnt my leg. "Ow."

"You just shot yourself, didn't you?" Skylar guessed.

"No." I lied, even though it hurt. Like a lot.

"Well, it's over." Skylar smiled. "We won."

**Dani's POV**

"It's over!" Clyde cheered, parading around Kaz as the scores appeared on the screen. "You lost."

Kaz sighed, clearly annoyed. "You got the second lowest score ever." Clyde chuckled. "Right above someone named K%Z."

"But I looked so cool!" The black haired boy protested. "I even did one of these!" He spun around and pretended to shoot something under his leg.

"Yeah, well now you're banished." Clyde cheered. "For good."

"Wait." I stopped him. "I want a rematch. Against me this time. And if I win, Kaz, Ollie, and I aren't banished anymore."

"And if I win?" Clyde questioned. I hesitated, then said the first thing I could think of.

"Kaz gives you his pants." I blurted out.

"What?" Kaz stared at me. "I love these pants."

"They are nice pants." Clyde hummed. I looked at him hopefully. "It's a deal."

**Xxx**

Clyde cheered as my score appeared on the screen, my number not even close to his. "You didn't even try!" Kaz accused.

"I hate to admit it, but I actually did." I sighed. "But hey, at least my score was higher than yours."

"I can't not believe I have to do this." Kaz muttered, unzipping his pants. He pulled them off, and to my and Alivia's surprise, he was wearing a pair of sweat pants underneath. He handed his pants to Clyde, while we looked at him.

"You're wearing two pairs of pants?" Alivia questioned. He nodded, frowning.

"Yeah, why? How many are you wearing?" He questioned.

**Oliver's POV**

Even though the E.R. room was a mess, I had to say that things could have gone a lot worse. "Nice job, Oliver." Skylar told me sincerely. "You wanna hug."

"Yes." I grinned, then remembered earlier. "No! Do I? I'm so confused!"

Skylar chuckled lightly, then looked around. "Where's Alan?" She questioned.

"Is it over?" We heard him ask. We both turned around to see that he'd jumped into the Dimension Zero window. I sighed and grabbed the remote, hitting the button to release him.

He landed on the floor clumsily, then pushed himself up. "Thanks for helping me, guys." He told us. "No one's ever treated me this nicely before. I better get this all cleaned up before my Uncle Horace gets back."

I smiled and looked at Skylar. "See? I was right. You treat someone well, and you put them on the path to being a good person."

Suddenly, one of the bots twitched. "Wait, one of the bots are still alive!" I exclaimed, grabbing the laser. I shot at the bot, but the laser went right through Alan's earmuffs. Sure, I managed to stop the bot before it regained its power, but the earmuffs were destroyed.

"Mittens! No!" Alan cried in horror. He glared at me, furious. "You'll rue the day."

"And now I turned him back." I admitted. Suddenly, my phone rang. I quickly answered it. "Yeah?"

" _Ollie?"_  Dani's reply was slow and hesitant, as if she was unsure about something.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked.

" _Um…I did something that you're not gonna like…"_  She said slowly.  _"And I need you to come down to the Domain. Like right now."_

"Why? Are you in trouble?" I demanded, worried. She laughed darkly.

" _Uh, not yet, no. But I…look, just get down here right now."_  She insisted before hanging up. I looked at Skylar, concerned.

**Xxx**

When I ran into The Domain, I honestly expected something to be wrong. I didn't expect to see everyone watching Clyde pull on a pair of pants, while Kaz stood in his sweatpants.

"Hey, Dee, are you…" I stopped midsentence, staring at them. "Kaz, why is Clyde wearing your pants?"

"Dani?" Kaz gave my sister a pointed look, expecting her to explain.

"Uh, there was a bet, and technically it was my fault, and Kaz and I lost to Clyde at Alien Assassins, so now Ollie, Kaz, and I are banished from the Domain and Kaz had to give him his pants." Dani winced, looking at me as if she expected me to be angry. But after the day I just had, I was too tired to actually get upset. "I'm sorry."

"Wait, we never said. Are we banned for my life, or yours?" Kaz questioned, looking at Clyde. "Because you're like, what? Eighty?"

"How about a rematch?" I questioned, walking up to him. "And if I win, then Kaz, Dani, and I are allowed to come back here whenever we want. And if you win-"

"Ollie gives you his pants!" Dani exclaimed. Kaz turned to look at her.

"What is with you and pants today?" He demanded. She shrugged, a slight smirk on her face. I looked at Clyde confidently.

"It's a deal." I told him. Kaz looked at uncertainly.

"Are you sure?" He asked. I smiled.

"Don't worry; after the day I just had, I've got this." I assured him.

**Xxx**

"Pants please." Clyde held out his hand after I lost. I sighed and pulled off my jeans, revealing the sweat pants I was wearing underneath.

"Why are you both wearing multiple layers of pants?" Alivia questioned, frowning. I looked at her as I handed my pants to Clyde.

"You think this is the first time Dani's used our pants as bargaining chips?" I countered.

"What's going on?" Wallace asked, walking over to us. Clyde smirked.

"CutiePie15 is once again the reigning champion, and Kaz, Oliver, and Dani are banished from the store forever." He proclaimed proudly before he looked at us. "Now split…pea soup. I really have to see a doctor."

"Hold on." Wallace stopped us, then pulled his brother over to the side. Alivia turned to Dani.

"Okay, I need to know; just how many pairs of pants have Kaz and Oliver lost because of one of your bets?"

**Wallace's POV**

I glanced at the kids to make sure they couldn't hear us, then looked at my other half. "We can't banish Kaz, Oliver, or Dani. We need them around so they can lead us to Mighty Med."

"Oh yeah, I totally forgot." He agreed. "I got so worked up. And these are really nice pants." He held up Oliver's pants to prove his point.

"These are really nice pants." I agreed, looking them over. We talked about them for a moment before walking back over to the kids.

"Kids, kids. Good news." I told the children. "Clyde here just reconsidered and you are no longer banished."

"Nah, it's okay." Kaz assured us. "We'll just buy our comics online."

"No!" I snapped quickly. "You guys are our best customers, even though you rarely buy anything. We really want you to stay. Right Clyde?"

My other was reluctant to answer, but eventually saw sense. "Yes. Please stay." He ground out through his teeth.

"Okay, but we want our pants back." Oliver demanded. My other half sighed.

"Fine." He agreed.

"And all the Tecton collectables." Kaz added.

"What?" I grabbed the nearest Tecton memorabilia. "Even the Tecton Hong Kong Ping Pong?"

"Even the Tecton Hong Kong Ping Pong." Kaz agreed.

"Fine." I agreed. Kaz took the toy from me.

"I will be back for the rest after I get my Tecton Two Tote Carry On." He told us. The kids left the store, the boys carrying their pants over their shoulders.

"Even when I win, I still lose." My other half sighed. "Those children will rue the day. Yes, we will meet again and victory will be ours."

"And we will wipe out every superhero in the world and take their lives." I agreed.

"And their pants." He added. I looked at him.

"That goes without saying."


	7. Lockdown

**Kaz's POV**

"Skylar, come with me!" I insisted, grabbing her arm as I walked past her. I didn't have much time to talk to her, and I needed to tell her, Gus, and Alivia about my plan.

"Okay, okay!" She pulled her arm out of my grasp, but followed me over to Alivia's locker, where she and Gus were talking about the marching band's next performance.

"Good morning Kaz, Connie. Where are Oliver and Dani?" Alivia questioned, smiling at us. I glanced over my shoulder, double checking to make sure we were in the clear. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I assured her. "Dani and Oliver are helping Coach Rombough set up for the basketball game tonight."

"That's nice of them." Alivia mentioned. I nodded.

"Yeah, they're always doing stuff like that." I checked over my shoulder again. "Look, you all know that their birthday's coming up, right?"

"If by coming up, you mean not happening for another three months." Gus told me. "I remember the date because it's the anniversary of when I realized I do like toast, despite what everyone said."

"I know." I ignored the last bit. "But…I want to throw them a surprise party, because they're always being nice to everyone else without asking for anything in return, and I think it's about time we return the favor."

"I'm listening." Skylar leaned against her locker.

"Well, I've been trying to pull off a surprise party for them for years, but it never works out because they always guess ahead of time." I continued. "So, I figured that if we throw the party early enough in the year, they won't see it coming."

"Awesome!" Skylar grinned. "I've always wanted to go to a surprise party! We have to keep it a secret. No one say a word about it!"

I nodded, glad that they were all on board. "Okay, so here's the plan-"

Before I could say anything more, Skylar pushed me into the nearest locker, her elbow at my throat. "Keep your mouth shut! You're going to ruin the surprise!"

"I have to tell you about the party!" I snapped back, pushing her off of me. She backed off, realizing her mistake.

"Sorry." She apologized. I just shook my head, brushing it off.

"So, since Oliver and Dani always figure it out, I'm having the party tonight so they'll never expect it." I told them.

"Never expect what?" Oliver asked innocently as he and Dani walked over to us. I hesitated.

"Uh…this!" I exclaimed, attempting to poke him in the eyes. He blocked it with ease, not so much as flinching.

"I knew you were going to do that. You can't surprise me." He bragged. Dani rolled her eyes, and looked at us.

"So, what's up?" She asked, curious.

"Actually, I'm glad you guys are here." I told them. "Because I need you to leave."

"Rude." Dani accused childishly. "Why?"

Skylar leapt forward, pinning her to the locker just like she had pinned me. Dani stared at her, wide-eyed and confused. "Because your presence compromises the mission!"

Dani and Oliver just stared at Skylar, confused. "Which is to, uh…go to the cafeteria to…" I tried to think of a decent lie, one that both of them would buy, "…get Gus some…"

"Toast!" Gus exclaimed, cutting me off. He grinned. "See, told you I liked it."

"Why can't he get it himself?" Oliver questioned.

"And seriously, would you get off me?" Dani demanded, looking at Skylar. She backed off, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Sorry." She apologized.

"Because he's too weak from the lack of toast." I explained, addressing Oliver's question. "And we're not going to leave him alone, not in this toast-less state!"

I shoved him and Dani in the direction of the cafeteria. "Okay, okay." Oliver finally agreed while his sister gave me an annoyed look. "We'll go. Stop pushing us."

The second they were out of earshot, I turned back to the others. "Alright, here's the plan; Clyde agreed to let us use The Domain for the party tonight. I'll keep the twins away until seven o'clock, while you guys set up and get the decorations ready."

"Ready for what?" Dani inquired as she and Oliver walked back over to us.

"Uh, ready for this!" I tried to poke her in the eyes too, but she, like Oliver, blocked it with a smile.

"Really Kaz?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. I sighed in annoyance.

"Why are you still here?" I demanded. Did they not know how hard it was to plan a surprise party if the people the party is for won't leave?

"We just remembered, neither of us have any money." Oliver explained. Dani grimaced.

"Yeah, I kinda spent the what I had left on a new pair of cleats." Dani explained.

"It doesn't matter. I have toast right here." Gus assured them, pulling a piece of toast out of his backpack. He took a bite, then his face wrinkled in disgust. He spat out the large bite he'd taken. "You guys were right; I don't like toast."

"Class is about to start." Alivia warned us, checking the time on her phone.

"Catch you guys later." Skylar said before following Oliver and Gus towards the Home Ec room. Dani quickly grabbed her books out of her locker, then walked into the Spanish room. I went to follow her, but Alivia stopped me at the door.

"Okay, since this is for their birthday, presents? Yes or no?" She questioned.

"Up to the guest, I suppose." I decided. She smiled knowingly.

"You already got them something, didn't you?" She accused. I glanced inside, checking on Dani. She was near the back of the room, talking with Jordan.

"Yeah. Oliver's gift arrived yesterday, and my brother's going to drop Dani's off at The Domain later." I replied. "Hey, any chance you can handle the guest list?"

"Yeah, totally." The red-head replied. I grinned. This was going to be awesome.

**Alivia's POV**

Things were going well, I thought. A few of the people I'd invited had already shown up, including some of The Domain's regular customers that Oliver and Dani like chatting with, a group of girls from the soccer team for Dani, and a bunch of kids from school. More would arrive later, when the party was about to begin. I mean, it was only 6:15 P.M., and the party wouldn't start until Kaz, Oliver, and Dani show up at 7.

I was currently gathering all the presents on a table to the left. Surprisingly, a number of people had brought small gifts, though I suspected that it was because many of them thought tonight was actually Oliver and Dani's birthday. My own gifts – a couple of comic books I'd brought with me from Bray that I thought they'd like – were sitting on top of the pile, while Kaz's presents were hidden away in the back. He'd insisted on it, saying that he really wanted them to be a surprise, and after seeing what they were, I didn't blame him.

The room actually looked pretty good. Skylar had done well with the decorations, including signs that said happy birthday, and streamers in both red (Dani's favorite color) and blue (Oliver's fave). Along with a stereo playing party music, she'd also set up a table full of snacks, filling it with both mini-wieners and tofu pops.

Gus arrived in the middle of us setting up, carrying some very weird looking balloons in his hands. "Gus, what are those?" Skylar questioned before I could.

"Balloons." He replied cheerfully. "You know, the very first balloons were air-filled pig bladders."

Not the right thing to say to the brunette. "I want this party to be great, and you brought pig bladders?"

"Of course not. What kind of a weirdo do you think I am? Pig bladders!" Gus assured her. "These are goat bladders."

"Put them over there, Gus." I pointed to a corner near the back of the room. He walked away smiling and I glanced at Skylar. "No one's even going to notice them."

"I just want tonight to be perfect." She stressed.

"For Oliver?" I said teasingly. She frowned.

"And Dani." She added, confused as to why I would only focus on Oliver.

"Of course." I shook my head. "And it will be amazing. They're going to love this."

"I hope so. It's my first time throwing a surprise party. Or birthday party, for that matter." She added. I nodded.

"Me too." I admitted. She looked at me, surprised. "I was homeschooled, so most of the kids I hung out with were the children of some of my dad's friends."

"Sounds lonely." She observed. I shook my head.

"Not as much as you'd think. I met some really cool people." I replied, shrugging. I looked around and noticed that Wallace and Clyde were having some sort of meeting near the back of the room with a group of people. I eyed them wearily, unsure of what to make of it. I just hoped that they didn't ruin the party or anything.

"Something wrong?" Skylar asked. I looked back at her.

"Uh, no. I just think…pretty sure I saw that dude tenting a house down the street from mine." I said. "I'm just worried that he's here because of some sort of bug problem."

"What?" Skylar demanded, once again worrying about how this would affect the party. I patted her shoulder.

"Look, I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe they're friends." I assured her before taking my phone and looking over the checklist. Invite people? Check. Decorations? Check. Cake? "Shoot."

"What?" Skylar questioned.

"Cake." I muttered. I grabbed my purse off the present table. "I'll be back in, like, half an hour. I just gotta go get a cake for the twins. They like chocolate, right?"

"Actually, I think Dani prefers vanilla." Skylar said thoughtfully. I nodded.

"Okay, I'll get half and half." I decided. "You stay here, make sure everything's okay. Call me if something happens. Anything, got it?"

"Just make sure you're back before seven." She called as I raced out the door.

**Kaz' POV**

"Alright Clone Master, I just need you to sign these discharge papers, and you're good to go." I announced, handing the hero a bunch of papers. He was a tall man, with orange-ish, messy hair. He was skinny for a superhero, though Dani guessed that he hid his muscles with his lime green jacket that he always wore over a black shirt.

"Thank you." The man replied in a thick Irish accent. I chuckled – no wonder he was Alivia's favorite hero. Hometown pride, I guessed. Or well, home-country, since I didn't know where in Ireland he was from. He was about to sign when his phone rang. "Gem?"

I walked away as he began to speak with his sidekick. One glance at the clock told me that it was a quarter to seven, meaning we had to leave soon.

Luckily, Dani and Oliver were easy to find, as they were both talking to Surge. "As far as I can tell, you're in a complete state of shock." Oliver told the superhero as red electricity flashed across his black vest. "So, you're back to normal, Surge."

"Ugh, phone's dead." I complained as I walked over to them. Surge looked at me, then grabbed my phone for a quick second. When he let go, the device had a full charge. I grinned. "Thanks dude." I fist-bumped him. Not a great idea, since it did shock my hand.

"Hey, guys," I put my arms around the twins' shoulders, leading them away, "it's 6:45. We should go The Domain."

Both of them stopped, looking at me in confusion. "Why? We're working here." Oliver reminded me.

"We have to go because…" I should really think of my lies ahead of time. "The Domain is having a promotion tonight for the new Tecton movie."

"Oh, Tecton's Tactical Takedown Two?" Dani asked, grinning. I knew she'd been hoping to go see it in theatres.

"Yeah, The Domain's giving away two tickets to Tecton's Tactical Takedown Two for the two tardiest teenagers tonight. It's a Two for Tardy Tuesday."

I tried to grab them and pull them with me, but they stood their ground. "First of all, why would Wallace and Clyde do that?"

"To reward tardiness." I insisted.

"And second of all, why would the three of us want two free tickets? Then one of has to either stay behind or pay for their own, and that's not fair to whoever draws the short straw." Dani told me.

"Why don't you go on ahead?" Oliver suggested. Dani nodded in agreement.

"You have to come with me." I pleaded with them. "It won't be the same without you guys. You know," I tried a different tactic – guilt, "we only have so many years left to do these things together, and one day, you guys are going to wake up, old and alone, and say to your robotic nursemaids Sheila-X99 and Eric-X72, 'I would have loved to go to the Domain with Kaz more often', and then they'll say 'what is love?', because they're robots. They fell nothing."

Dani and Oliver were always the more emotional of the two, so as expected, tears sprang to their eyes. "Fine, we'll go." Oliver whimpered. I put my arms around them and led them to the door, but before it had even opened completely, another door, this one metal and without a doorknob, slid down from the ceiling, blocking our exit.

An alarm began to blare, startling all the people in the room. "What's going on?" Dani demanded as Horace burst into the room.

"The hospital's gone into lockdown!" He explained. "Either someone is trying to break into Mighty Med, or it's a false alarm. Or I forgot to pay the alarm company, or the false alarm company."

"Well, how long are we going to be stuck here?" I demanded.

"Oh, we just need to wait for the system to reset itself. Shouldn't take more than five minutes." He assured me. "Unless it takes a week."

**Alivia's POV**

"I'm back!" I announced, walking into The Domain, the cake box in my hands. Jordan helped me clear a space on the food table and I set it down, smiling at the red and blue colored words that read 'Happy Birthday, Oliver and Dani'.

"They should be here in five minutes." Skylar warned, turning off the music that had been playing. She cleared her throat before addressing the large group of people who'd come. "Alright, people! We've only got one chance to get this right!"

Skylar stopped, noticing that McKenna was still talking with her boyfriend. "Are you not listening to me, McKenna?" Skylar slapped the celery stick out of her hand before turning back to the crowd. "Not let's get into positions and practice Operation Surprise Dani and Oliver."

"Skylar, relax. It's going to be fine." I told her. Gus nodded.

"Yeah, and why do we need to practice?" He questioned, confused. "How hard is it? They walk in, and we yell 'Get them!'." Skylar glared at the boy, and he shrunk back, afraid. "Actually, you're right. We should practice."

"I'll pretend to be the twins." I offered, stepping outside the store. I waited a few seconds for them to hide, then pushed open the door.

"SURPRISE!" They shouted. The man I noticed earlier, the exterminator, stared at us in shock, a grin forming on his face.

"This whole thing was a trick to get me to come to my own surprise party?" He exclaimed, thrilled. We all looked at each other awkwardly. "It happened! It finally happened!"

"This isn't for you." Gus was the one who told him the disappointing news. "This is a party for my friends, Dani and Oliver. And you're not invited. All of us are, but not you."

"Gus." I tried to stop him, because the guy looked pissed, but the little weirdo wouldn't stop.

"Over here, yay! Over there, wan!" He continued. He smiled at the man. "But happy birthday."

I watched the man go back over to Wallace and Clyde, disheartened.

**Kaz's POV**

I glanced at my phone, not happy when I saw the time. 7:05. We were supposed to be there five minutes ago, and it was about a fifteen-minute walk from the hospital to The Domain.

"Horace," I walked over to the main quickly, hoping he might be able to open the door for us, "you don't understand. We have to leave. Are you sure there's even a security threat?"

"It's hard to say. The system's very sensitive. It can triggered by any threat, no matter how small." He explained. "Sometimes, it's triggered by things that aren't even threats at all. Like a summer breeze, moths, or hateful words."

Alan burst into the room then, his sweater vest filled with holes. "A stupid summer breeze just blew a bunch of moths in!" He complained. "And they made holes in my favorite vest. I hate those moths!"

The alarm, which Horace had previously turned off, began to blare again. Horace sighed and left, presumably to go shut off the alarm. I turned around and walked over to Dani and Oliver, getting an idea.

"Hey, guys, I just figured out a way to get out of here so we can get to The Domain." I told them. Oliver shook his head.

"No, we should stay. I don't want to get in trouble." He told me. Dani looked at him, brushing the hair from her eyes.

"Actually, Ollie, I'm with Kaz on this one." She said. "I'm tired and the alarms are giving me a headache."

"Yeah, but Horace will have the alarms off soon. And besides, Solar Flare's making kettle corn." He told her. I looked past him to see that Solar Flare was indeed cooking kettle corn by using her powers to keep a fire going underneath a large metal pot.

"You have to come with us." I insisted. "It won't be the same without you. You know, we only have so many years left to do these things together-"

"Fine, I'll go." Oliver cried.

**Xxx**

I knelt by the ventilation grate, unscrewing the bolts while Dani and Oliver kept watch. "I'm not so sure this is a good idea." Oliver told me, once again losing his nerve.

"Are you kidding me?" I demanded. "This is how my brother got out of jail! Also into jail."

"He has a point." Dani hummed. I nodded.

"No one will even know we're leaving." I assured him. I looked at Dani. "Ladies first."

She bent down to climb into the vent, but froze when we all heard Alan's voice. "Why are you leaving?"

I looked at Alan as Dani slowly sat down outside the vent. "We're not leaving." I lied as I gave the short-haired girl a hand up.

"Oh, is my Uncle Horace making you clean out the ventilation system?" Alan inquired. Perfect!

"Yes!" "No!" "Yes." We all replied at the same time.

"No!" "Yes!" "No!" We tried again. We eventually just settled on going in between.

"Maybe?" We all said in unison. He looked at us.

"Okay, your story checks out." He told us. We exchanged looks, but didn't argue. "But watch your step. Nothing gets past me! Nothing!"

He adjusted his ruined sweater and walked past us, head held high. Dani shrugged and went to climb back into the vent, but Oliver spoke up first.

"Forget it. I'm not doing this." He told us. I looked at him.

"Yes, yes you are." I told him, frustrated. Dani was on board – though I knew going into this that she'd be the easiest one to convince – but Oliver kept refusing. "This is really important to me! So come on!"

I tried to grab him by the arm, but he pulled himself out of my reach. "No! I don't want to go. Stop pressuring me!" He shouted, having had enough. "All you ever do is think about yourself!"

Oliver may be my best friend, but some days, I just wanted to scream at him. "If you came with me, I think you'd be really  _surprised_  how not true that is."

"Whoa, hey." Dani stood up. "I didn't know this was going to start a fight. I'd rather be stuck here than listen to you two scream at each other the whole way to The Domain."

"Dani." I stopped her. I looked at Oliver. "Look, fine. If you want to go ask Horace for permission, we'll go ask him. He's right through here." I gestured at the air vent.

Oliver looked at it, then at me, then walked away. I sighed. "Dani, could you please talk to him?"

"I…no." She shook her head. "Ollie's got a point. You're being a bit bossy."

"I'm not trying to be-" But she was already walking away. "It's just a false alarm! Nothing will happen!"

**Xxx**

"Guys, listen to me!" I insisted, following the siblings into the main E.R. room. It was strangely empty, but I figured that everyone was down in the cafeteria or rec room, so I didn't pay it much attention. I hefted the large duffle bag onto my shoulder, grateful that we had one in the lost in found.

"We're not leaving, so drop it." Oliver snapped.

"I know, I know." I agreed, trying not to piss him off anymore. "And I'm sorry."

"Really?" Dani questioned, sitting down at her usual spot at the counters.

"I am. And I wrote you both a very sincere apology note." I told her. "It's in this duffle bag." I dropped the bag to the floor. "Why don't you guys climb in and read it?"

"Kaz, I know I'm not the greatest in school, but I ain't that stupid." Dani told me. Oliver nodded.

"You will do anything to get your way, won't you?" He questioned. "You are so selfish."

"I know, I know." I agreed. "I know I have been in the past, but that's why I bought you this." I pulled plan B out of my pocket. "Smell it, it's cologne."

"A cologne called anesthesia?" Oliver asked skeptically. I gulped, realizing I'd forgotten to take off the label.

"It's pronounced Anastasia." I lied.

"This so sad, it's actually funny." Oliver commented.

"Hey Horace, where is everyone?" Dani asked suddenly as Horace walked into the room. Immediately, I could tell something was off. His skin was so pale it actually looked grey, and his eyes were wide open and unblinking.

"You have not been absorbed. You must be absorbed." He said, his voice echoing in a strange fashion.

"Hey, you notice anything different about Horace?" Oliver questioned, our argument forgotten. I nodded, frowning.

"Yeah, has he always had that little beard?" I wondered.

"You must serve Revengance." Come to think about it, his voice was devoid of all emotion, very unusual for him. "He will be your master."

We backed away from him as he started to advance on us. Dani quickly slid out of her seat and went the long way around the counter to meet us, her eyes focused on Horace. "Dani, Kaz, you guys remember the supervillain Revengance?" Oliver questioned.

"Yep. This is probably why there was a lockdown. Revengance is trying to sneak into Mighty Med." Dani agreed.

"I think he already has. But how'd he get in?" I questioned. Oliver stopped and looked at me.

"He got in when you opened the vent." He accused. "And now he's taken control of Horace."

"But that's impossible!" I protested. "Revengance was disembodied. He's just a black cloud now. I don't see any black clouds around here."

As if on cue, a black, misty cloud flew into the room, hovering above our heads. "I can not catch a break today!" I exclaimed in frustration.

By now, more of Mighty Med's staff came stumbling into the room, moving around like brainless zombies. To my shock, it wasn't just staff either. Superheroes like Solar Flare and Clone Master also appeared to be Revengance's puppets.

Oliver, Dani, and I fled the room, racing down the halls in an attempt to get away from them.

**Alivia's POV**

"7:45…where are you guys?" I muttered, checking my phone. No new messages. I'd tried calling Kaz a few times, but it appeared that his phone was either off, dead, or unable to get service.

"Where are Kaz, Dani, and Oliver?" Skylar stressed, pacing the room. "Everyone already wants to leave! I can't let my first surprise party fail! We have to do something!"

"I'm sure they'll be here any minute." Gus promised her. "But, we can start with party games."

"Like what? Pin the Tail on the Donkey?" I suggested. Gus considered it.

"What about Duck, Duck, Goose?" He offered. "I've got two ducks in my backpack. I'll go get a goose."

Skylar stopped him. "They're teenagers; they don't care about party games. They care about self-preservation."

"What do you mean?" I asked, frowning.

"This." Two guys went to leave, but she glared at them furiously, stopping them in their path. "Nobody leaves, or I will snap you like a wishbone! Now go hide!"

"You've got a real violent streak." Gus observed before grinning. "I dig it."

Skylar looked at him, really weirded out. Bored, I glanced over at Wallace and Clyde's little meeting. It looked like the exterminator was ticked off at everyone, and they were having trouble calming him down. They all cheered about something, then stormed out of the building. Wallace and Clyde followed them.

"What was that about?" Gus wondered. I frowned.

"I don't think we want to know." I replied before pulling out my phone, while he went to lock the door to ensure the uninvited people (including Wallace and Clyde) did not come back in. Once again, I reached voicemail. I sighed.

"Where are you? Why aren't you answering your phone?" I questioned, leaving a message. "Call me back, okay?"

**Kaz's POV**

After a while, we all got bored of hiding out in one of the unused hospital rooms. Dani had an idea how we could sneak into the E.R. without the zombies trying to kill us or absorb us or whatever, so we decided to try it out.

After a few minutes of standing in the E.R. without anyone coming after us, I grinned. "Good idea, Dee." I commented as we watched the zombies push the counters and computer desks to the side of the room.

"Yeah. Looks like pretending to be drones is working." Oliver agreed. Dani smiled briefly, still standing like the zombies were.

"I have to hand it to these mindless freaks; they have an eye for design. This room looks so much more inviting." I commented.

"We have to stop Revengance before he rises again." Dani murmured. I nodded.

"I have a plan. Follow me." I walked out into the middle of the E.R. walking in the same way the drones were. We walked past them until we reached the other end of the room, where we ducked behind one of the desks.

"Alan?" Dani frowned, looking at the boy who was hiding underneath the desk. "You're safe? Wow, nice hiding spot."

"I'm not hiding! This is where I nap." He retorted, climbing out and kneeling next to us. A group of zombie staff were standing in the middle of the room. "What's going on?"

"Revengance has broken into the hospital and has turned everyone into drones. He's trying to find the plutonic reactor, so he can use it to turn himself human again." Oliver explained as he quickly as he could. I watched as the staff members lied down on the floor.

"That's impossible. There's no way to access it unless he's gathered all nine Mighty Med administrators." Alan blew it off.

"You mean them?" Dani asked, gesturing at the group of people, Horace standing in the middle of them. Alan nodded.

"Each of them has been implanted with one part of the access code." The black-haired boy explained. "But they'd have to be in a specific formation that only my Uncle Horace knows."

"You mean that specific formation?" Dani questioned again, gesturing. All the administrators were lying down in different angles, their bodies forming the outline of a giant M. The black smoke cloud formed above them, then began to spread.

"We have to stop Revengance before he returns to his physical form." Oliver said.

"You mean that physical form?" Well, Dani was on a roll for pointing out the obvious to people. Revengance was

"How do you stop a cloud?" Alan questioned, skeptical that it could be done. Luckily, Oliver was always good for a plan.

"By creating a vacuum!" He exclaimed. "It's simple meteorology?"

"It's what?" Dani demanded, confused. He ignored her.

"We can use the hospital air conditioning system to create a cold front, then turn on the sterilizing equipment to create pockets of warm air, resulting in a low pressure system-"

"Or we can just use this vacuum, Oliver." Alan suggested, standing near a very large vacuum cleaner. Dani smirked.

"And this is why I like him. He takes your over complicated ideas, and simplifies them." She announced. Oliver glared at her.

"You're siding with him now?" He questioned.

"What are you mad at me for?" She retorted. He sighed.

"I'm just in a bad place right now." He replied apologetically. I ignored them both and ran forward, grabbing end of the vacuum cleaner. Alan took the front and we each grabbed hold of the hose, helping him.

I hit the on switch and the vacuum began to suck at the air. The cloud drew closer to us, but it didn't seem to be disappearing into the vacuum's hose. "It's not working! He's too powerful!" Alan exclaimed.

"We need more power!" Dani shouted at me. I glanced around the room, trying to see if there was anything that would work. My gaze rested in Surge, who was one of the drones standing around. "Yes! Surge!" I grabbed his hand, ignoring the electrical charge that dug into my hand, and placed the plug in his palm.

Alan, meanwhile, held the hose higher, this time managing to pull the cloud in. "We've got a fighter!" He announced. Dani and Oliver increased their efforts to help him, holding onto the hose as if their lives depended on it.

After a few moments, they managed to suck Revengance into the vacuum. The moment he was inside, all the drones (or former-drones) looked around in confusion.

"We did it!" I exclaimed. We all exchanged high-fives, including Alan, who looked pretty surprised to be included. "That was an awesome idea, Alan!"

"I've never been part of a team before." He mentioned. He thought about it, then made a face. "I don't like it."

We watched him walk away, while Horace tried to make sense of the situation. "There can only be one reason all nine Mighty Med administrators would be here." He said as they got to their feet. "To limbo!"

He pulled a large limbo stick out of nowhere, and one of the staff members turned on music. They began to dance around and do the limbo, while we stared.

"This is the weirdest work place ever." Dani decided. I nodded.

"I'm tired. You know what I could go for?" I smiled at them. "A nice fourteen block walk through a bad neighborhood to The Domain."

Dani let out a frustrated groan, while Oliver glared at me.

"Enough!" Dani shouted. "We don't want to go!"

"Why is everything always about what you want?" Oliver demanded. I looked at him, actually a little hurt. "You know, all the time, I'm always thinking 'what can I do for Kaz?', 'what can I do to cheer him up?'-"

"Don't forget 'how can I dislodge his head from that banister?'" Dani added.

"One time." I retorted.

"Try three." She corrected.

"When's the last time you did anything for either of us?" Oliver questioned. I looked at him. Enough was enough.

"Actually, pretty recently." I replied.

"Oh, really? Like when?" Oliver didn't believe me. I nodded.

"When I threw you a birthday party at The Domain. Tonight." Their confident smirks faded. "Three months early, so I could surprise you. And, uh, now I wish I never had."

"You-you threw us a surprise party?" Oliver stared. I nodded and he sighed. "So that's why you were bossing us around and tried to knock me unconscious with fake cologne. Because you care about us. And we just yelled at you all day."

"You yelled. I just got really annoyed at him." Dani corrected. "But I still think we just won the award the worst best friends ever."

"I feel terrible." Oliver told me. Dani nodded.

"Forgive us?" She asked hopefully. I considered it.

"Nope." I decided. I knew how they could be, and I figured they'd eventually try to bribe me into forgiving them. Not that I'd take the bribe, but it sure would be amusing to see.

"But Kaz," Dani batted her eyes at me, the green orbs going watery, "we only have a few years left to spend together and one day, you're going to wake up, old and alone-"

"Fine, I forgive you!" I cried, immediately pulling her in for a hug. I guess that little trick went both ways, and it did suck to think that one day, it might be possible that I wouldn't have either of them in my life.

**Xxx**

"We're here!" I shouted as we burst through the door. To my disappointment, the only people left in the store were Skylar and Alivia. Both girls were sitting on the steps, looking completely bored out their minds.

"Where have you been? The party was a disaster!" Skylar exclaimed upon seeing us.

"There was a lo…" I stopped, remembering that Alivia was in the room, "…lot of traffic."

"Traffic, really?" Alivia sighed, getting up. "Well, here's what you missed: two ducks, a goose, a piñata filled with intestines instead of candy, and a lot of disappointed guests. Most of them left ages ago."

"Wait, why was there a piñata with intestines in it?" Oliver questioned. The girls exchanged looks.

"Gus." They replied at the same time. And truth be told, we didn't need any other explanation.

"Um, thanks for coming?" Dani laughed slightly, hugging both of them. "Really."

"You're welcome." "Hope you don't mind that we ate half your cake while we waited." They replied.

The twins both chuckled at that, glancing over at half vanilla and half chocolate birthday cake that was sitting on a nearby table. Most of it was gone, leaving only a few more pieces. "It's cool. It sucks that we were so late."

"I'll try again next time." I assured them. Everyone gave me an exasperated look.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I gotta go. My dad's outside." Alivia smiled at us apologetically. "Happy early birthday, and I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Totally." "Thanks." Dani and Oliver replied. Skylar also said good night, claiming that she had a school assignment she had to work on.

"Well, that sucked." I commented dryly.

"You tried your best." Oliver assured me. Dani nodded.

"It's the thought that counts." She agreed, walking over to the food table and popping a tofu pop in her mouth. "Yum."

"Oh!" I suddenly remembered something. "I got you guys gifts."

"You didn't have to; it's not even technically our birthday." Oliver reminded me. I nodded.

"I know, but I was surfing on Amazon and I saw, like, the perfect thing for you." I admitted, heading into the back room, where Alivia said she'd put the gifts. I came out carrying Oliver's, a box wrapped in pink wrapping paper.

"Pink, really?" He questioned, while Dani bit back a laugh. I nodded, smirking. He rolled his eyes, then slowly unwrapped the gift. "No way."

"Seriously?" Dani looked at the gift.

"You got me a Skylar Storm action figure!" Oliver grinned. I nodded, loving that smile on his face.

"Yeah, but uh…don't show her that. She might get a little weirded out." I told him. He nodded, not taking his eyes off the toy. I chuckled, then looked at Dani. "And for you…"

I stepped into the back room and quickly lifted Dani's gift out of the crate my brother had put it in and walked back out into the main room, carrying it in my arms.

Dani's eyes went wide the moment she laid eyes on it, while Oliver looked downright horrified. "You got me a kitty?" Dani rushed forward, scooping the grey and white kitten into her arms with a look of pure adoration.

"You got her a cat?" Oliver repeated her question, only with a little less excitement.

"Yeah…sorry bro." I told him, knowing he wasn't a fan of pets. But the look on Dani's face was totally worth it.

"Suck it, Ollie. I'm keeping him." Dani retorted.

"Her." I corrected, remembering what the lady at the pet store had said. "She doesn't have a name yet, either."

"…Katy." Dani grinned, petting the cat. The kitten didn't squirm much, instead looking around with big eyes. "I'm totally naming her Katy."

"If she used my room as a little box…" Oliver warned. Dani smirked.

"Then I will reward her by giving her treats." She replied sweetly. She looked at me. "Thank you, Kaz."

"It's no big deal." I shrugged it off. She rolled her eyes and kissed me on the cheek, just as Wallace and Clyde stormed into the room.

"Hey, what's with you two?" Oliver questioned, noticing their bad mood.

"Get out." Clyde growled. We exchanged looks.

"Okay…?" We started to leave, but then I remembered something else.

"No way am I leaving that cake behind!" I muttered, racing back inside for the desert. I heard Oliver and Dani laugh at me from outside, but I didn't particularly care. Because you don't leave cake behind, ever.


	8. So You Think You Can Be a Sidekick

**Dani's POV**

I looked over Tecton's chart one more time before looking up at the blonde man in the hospital gown. "All done. Go ahead and change." I let him know. He sighed, closing the curtains for a brief moment, then opening them again, revealing that he had switched into his orange and blue super suit. "Okay, so you seem perfectly healthy to me, so I don't see why you felt the need to come in."

"If all my tests are perfectly normal, why am I getting all these headaches?" Tecton questioned. I thought about it for a long moment, considering the possibilities.

"Anything stressful happening in your life?" I asked. He sighed.

"Only the crap with Jenn, and Megahertz escaping from Mighty Max Prison." He muttered.

"Sounds like you've got a lot on your tectonic plate." He looked at me, not getting the pun. "Never mind. So, what's going on with Jenn? I thought you broke up with her, like, two weeks ago."

"I did. Then she insisted we grab coffee and that she needed to tell me something important." He sighed, sitting down on a hospital bed for a moment. "You won't believe what she said."

"That she wants to get back together?" I guessed. He chuckled.

"Not exactly." He replied. "She's pregnant."

"Damn." I had not been expecting that. "Baby Tecton. Actually, that sounds adorable, and possibly very dangerous."

"I don't want a kid." He insisted. Kaz walked by as he said that.

"Wait, who's having a kid?" He questioned, looking at me.

"Tecton, apparently." I replied. Kaz gave him a sympathetic look.

"Ah. Good luck with that." He mentioned. Tecton sighed.

"Well, how am I supposed to deal with that, and my superhero duties? Especially now that Megahertz is on the loose again."

"You know what you need?" Kaz interrupted before I could give him some advice.

"A 'me' day?" Tecton guessed.

"No, a sidekick." Kaz insisted before grinning. "A sidekick could support you and be there at your beck and call."

To my surprise, Tecton considered it. "Sounds interesting." He admitted. "But I'd have to find the right person for the job. But who?"

Kaz smirked. "Someone loyal, someone brave…" He listed, obviously wanting to get chosen. He drew his arm back, accidently hitting a superhero's blaster. The blast ricocheted off the walls, bouncing everywhere, but Kaz was oblivious to the danger. "…someone acutely aware of their surroundings."

Suddenly, Ollie raced forward, pushing Kaz to the ground. I watched as the blast crashed into a metal cart, mere inches away from where Kaz was standing.

"Someone like him!" Tecton decided when he saw Ollie save Kaz' life. Both boys looked up at Tecton in confusion.

"How would you like to be my sidekick?" Tecton questioned, offering Ollie a hand up. Ollie accepted it and Tecton pulled him up, my brother literally being pulled off his feet by Tecton's strength before the hero set him down.

Ollie beamed at the idea. "Yes!" He exclaimed, completely ignoring me trying to silently tell him that it was a bad idea. "Totally!"

"Here we go." I muttered, shaking my head. Kaz looked at Tecton in despair.

"What? He gets to be your sidekick just because he saved me on time?" He demanded.

Suddenly, the ricocheting blast bounced back our way. I ducked out of harm's way, while Ollie tackled Kaz to the ground again. "Two times." Kaz corrected himself.

Tecton and Ollie merely smiled. I sighed, knowing that this wasn't going to go well.

**Oliver's POV**

"So you're really going to be Tecton's sidekick?" My sister questioned skeptically as she walked past me, right over to where Mr. Marvel was being treated for an axe in the back.

"Yeah, why?" I replied, glancing at her before looking back at the clipboard in my hands. "You don't think it's a good idea?"

"Not really. I mean, it's hard enough to keep Mom from figuring out what we do afterschool, and this is a whole new set of responsibilities." She reasoned. "You sure you're good with that?"

"How hard can it be?" I replied. She shrugged one shoulder, agreeing with me.

"Alright, but is it really worth starting a fight with Kaz?" She added.

"Why would Kaz care if I was Tecton's sidekick?" I questioned, confused. She looked at me like I have three heads, then sighed.

"And they say I'm the dumb one." She muttered.

"You're not dumb." I said automatically. Dani chuckled at that.

"No, but compared to you? You're the straight A student, Ollie. Which is why I don't get how you can be so completely oblivious sometimes." She laughed lightly, amused. I was about to question what she meant by oblivious when Kaz walked in.

"Oh, it's Oliver, the sidekick!" He exclaimed in fake amusement. "Can somebody help me? I've been stabbed in the back!"

I rolled my eyes at his theatrics. "They should probably finish helping him first." I replied, gesturing at the hero on the gurney. The nurses helped him roll over, showing Kaz the giant axe stuck in the man's back.

"Yeah, well…my wound is deeper because it came from a friend." My best friend stated grumpily. He glared at me. "I can't believe you're going to be Tecton's sidekick. You know that's always been my lifelong dream."

"No, it's not." I retorted. Dani raised an eyebrow at me.

"Uh, yeah it is." She replied as Skylar walked into the room.

"Hey Oliver, I hear you're going to be Tecton's sidekick." She smiled at me before giving Kaz a sympathetic look. "You okay, Kaz? I know that's always been your lifelong dream."

Seriously? I looked at her, but she didn't seem to be trying to mess with me. "Why'd he even pick you? You don't even have any powers?"

"Neither do you, so that doesn't exactly help your case." Dani pointed out.

"And obviously, Tecton saw something in me." I insisted. "And I'm sorry, but I can't pass up with opportunity."

"Fine." Kaz raised his head up high. "Then I'm going to take the one thing that means the most to you."

He wrapped his arms around Skylar, but instead of trying to pull her away, he grabbed the two bottles of hand sanitizer that were sitting on the counter behind her. He walked away with them in his hands, heading for the door.

"Uh…Dee?" I watched him go. Dani sighed and pulled a bottle of hand sanitizer out of her bag. She tossed it to me.

"You are such a germ-a-phobe." She accused lightly before shouldering the bag. "You sure you want to do this whole sidekick thing?" I nodded without hesitation. "Alright. I'm gonna try and convince him to pick another lifelong goal."

"Thank Dani." I called after her as she walked out. I turned on my heel and headed towards Tecton, who was standing near another counter. "Hey Tecton, it's your sidekick, reporting for duty."

"Excellent." He nodded. "But first, you must be sworn in with the traditional oath of heroes, set forth by the elders of Galtrax. Repeat after me."

Wanting to prove how enthusiastic I was, I began reciting the oath, placing my fist over my heart. "I swear by the elders of Galtrax that I pledge my unending allegiance to aid and serve until evil and injustice have been eradicated from the universe." As I finished the oath, I turned to Tecton, suddenly getting an idea. "Should I say it in original Galtraxian? Afar bifen defar-"

"I'm good, thanks." Tecton stopped me.

"Zook graff." I replied. "So, what's my first assignment? Rescue a Normo in distress? Prevent the London bridge from falling down, falling down, falling down?"

"I need you to hand wash my uniforms." I really hadn't expected that reply. "Then go to my house and water my plants, then take my invisible dog to the invisible dog park."

"What? But those are just chores!" I protested. Tecton nodded.

"Yeah, what'd you think you were going to be doing?" He chuckled. "Battle super villains?"

Well, maybe not on the first day… "If you wanted someone to do your errands, why would you need someone brave?"

"You'll need to be brave to water my plants." He insisted. "They're man-eating plants. Also, feed my plants." He gave me a thumbs up as he walked out. I sighed, a little disheartened. Well, this wasn't how I expected today to go.

**Dani's POV**

"I don't see why your lifelong dream can't be to become a superhero's sidekick." I sighed in exasperation as Kaz and I walked back into Mighty Med through the storage closet entrance. "I mean, why does it have to be Tecton?"

"Because Tecton's the coolest!" He insisted. My phone suddenly beeped. "Who texted you?"

"Liv. Wants to know what we're doing." I replied before sending a quick response.

**To: Liv**

**From: Dani**

**K + O = arguing, trying to settle things.**

She responded rather quickly.

**To: Dani**

**From: Liv**

**Want an excuse to bail?**

I smiled at the thought of getting out of here, but quickly responded in the negative. After all, I was needed here.

"She says hi." I mentioned to Kaz as Ollie walked into the room carrying a large garbage bag over his shoulder.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the thief of dreams." Kaz mused. "What's in the bag? A six-year old's wish to one day become an astronaut?"

Ollie gave him an annoyed and tired look. "It's Tecton's uniforms." He told us, clearly frustrated. "This job is horrible! All I do is his chores! This morning, I had to make his bed."

"Oh boo hoo." Kaz mocked, clearly not believing that it was a terrible task. Ollie raised an eyebrow.

"It's on the ceiling." He added. Kaz rolled his eyes.

"Don't like to make me less mad at you." He said. "There's no way that being Tecton's sidekick isn't the coolest thing ever."

"Oliver, Tecton's looking for you." Skylar announced, walking over to us. "He wants you to empty his waste basket. Oh, and be careful; it's radioactive waste."

"Wait, seriously?" I questioned. Skylar nodded.

"Wow. Being Tecton's sidekick really is horrible, and dangerous." Kaz realized. He grinned. "I feel so much better now."

"What am I going to do?" Ollie demanded. "Tecton's a great superhero, but he's ruining my life!"

"Well, technically, he should be ruining my life." Kaz reminded him. I sighed and looked at my brother.

"Look, if it's too much for you, you should quit." I advised. Kaz nodded in agreement.

"That's what I always do when I'm faced with adversity." He replied.

"What about perseverance?" Ollie asked, frowning. We both stared at him.

"Dude, who do you think we are?" "How long have you known me?" Kaz and I both questioned. Ollie shrugged partially.

"Besides, I can't quit." He insisted. "I took the Galtraxian Oath of Heroes. I am totally izelflarped."

I looked at him, aghast. "Language!" I snapped. Skylar sighed.

"I don't know why Tecton even wants a sidekick. They're the first thing a villain goes after to lure you into a trap." She told us. "I mean, it works out really well when you're trying to train future superheroes, but in general, it's more stress than it's worth."

"Wait, that's it." Kaz looked at Ollie. "The Oath of Heroes prevents you from quitting, but it doesn't prevent him from firing."

"Also known as the Loophole of Heroes." I added brightly.

"So, what's the plan?" Ollie questioned.

"All we have to do is make it look like you've been captured by a villain." Kaz decided. Skylar nodded.

"Then he'll see that having you work for him makes him vulnerable, and he'll fire you." She added.

"Or, you know, you could just pretend to be really bad at the job so he won't want to keep you around." I suggested. They all looked at me. "Never mind, that doesn't sound as fun or potential chaotic."

"Okay." Ollie nodded thoughtfully. "I hope this works, because I can't do his dirty work anymore. Yesterday, he made me clean his shower."

"Big deal?" I questioned skeptically.

"It's a meteor shower." My brother informed me. "It really hurts, even when you set the showerhead to gentle."

**Oliver's POV**

"Hurry up, Ollie. I gotta go." Dani reminded me, adjusting her grip on her backpack. Skylar was still at Mighty Med, getting things ready for later, but since my sister had soccer practice and I needed to be out of Mighty Med and away from Tecton for a bit, Kaz and I figured we'd walk with her to The Domain.

"I just want to go over the plan with you one more time." I replied, double checking to make sure the store was indeed empty. It wasn't for Dani's sake that I wanted to go over it again – she had come up with most of the details, so I didn't doubt that she knew what she was doing – but things often sounded easier when it was said aloud.

"Kaz, Skylar, and I will tell Tecton that Megahertz captured you." Dani began. I nodded.

"Tecton will feel obligated to rescue me, but before he leaves-" I continued.

"You'll run in and say that you barely escaped." Kaz finished. "Then he'll see that you're a liability and get rid of you."

"Am I missing anything?" I asked, trying to think. Dani thought about it.

"Well, we have to remember to bring this back to Mighty Med with us later." Dani gestured at the Skylar Storm cardboard cutout. I looked at her and she sighed. "Skylar's been asking me if she can keep it ever since she saw it at our party. Says that she looks awesome."

"She does." I agreed. Dani chuckled lightly at that, amused.

"Look, Skylar and I were talking earlier, and she brought up a good point. Just telling Tecton won't be enough to convince him." Kaz told me.

"So, what do you want to do?" Dani asked. Kaz hesitated.

"Well, Skylar had an idea about mailing him Oliver's severed head, but I don't think that's going to work out all that well." He said. I looked at him, horrified. Why did Skylar want to cut off my head? "Long story short, she wasn't aware that they didn't grow back."

"What about…a news report? Like the ones on SNN?" Dani suggested. I nodded, smiling.

"That's a great idea." I agreed. Kaz considered it.

"I have an app on my phone that will help me piece together clips from past news reports, so I can make a fake one." He suggested before chuckling and pulling out his phone. "I was testing the app earlier this week. Check it out."

He then showed us a series of video clips put together. They didn't have the best transition between them, but the message was clear: 'I am Oliver and I like to smell dogs' butts.'

"What do you think?" Kaz grinned proudly.

"Could have been worse." Dani decided. Kaz smiled, pleased with her response.

"Okay, let's do that." I agreed. Dani nodded.

"Okay, you lay low for a while so that Tecton will notice that you're missing. We'll go find him as soon as my game is over." She told me. She started heading for the door, Kaz following behind her while laughing at his phone.

"Good luck!" I called after her. I hung around the Domain for a while, browsing through the comic books. It wasn't long before someone I actually knew walked in.

"Hello Oliver." Alivia's cheerful, Irish accent drew me away from the stack of comic books I was looking at. "Where are Kaz and Dani?"

"Soccer game." I replied. She nodded. "So, getting another Clone Master comic book?"

"I was actually looking for your sister." The red head replied sheepishly. I nodded. "I didn't mean that I don't like hanging out with you or anything – I do, actually – but I just needed her advice on something."

"Oh, anything I can help with?" I asked, trying to be helpful. She hesitated.

"It's uh…girl talk." She admitted. I raised an eyebrow.

"And you wanted to talk to my sister about it?" I questioned skeptically.

"I don't know any other girls aside from Connie, and God knows where she is." She shrugged. "I'm just…it's long distance relationship issue stuff. Jamie's upset that we can't see each other as much, and is being really clingy as a result and…" She sighed. "Relationships are hard, Oliver."

"Tell me about it." I chuckled, grabbing my phone. "Wanna go talk about it? I could do with a hot chocolate or something."

"Maybe hot dogs?" Alivia suggested, smiling hopefully. "I love hot dogs, but Dani always makes me feel guilty for eating meat in front of her."

"Hot dogs it is." I agreed, heading out of The Domain with her. We started walking down through the alley way, talking a bit. Then, a man in a black trench coat stepped out of the shadows, his big black hat failing to hide the cybernetics covering a portion of his face.

I recognized him as Megahertz immediately, and I backed up, startled. "Megahertz?" I hissed, shocked.

"You know another half-cyborg who can throw electricity?" Megahertz demanded.

"Who are you?" Alivia questioned. I looked at her, distraught. I'd completely forgotten than she was there. "What do you want?"

"I hear you're working for Tecton now." Megahertz snarled. Suddenly, a look of recognition crossed his face. "Hey, aren't you the kid who threw a bedpan at my head?"

"He threw a bedpan at your head?" Alivia looked surprised. "Is that why your face is all jacked?"

Wow, I couldn't think of a time that Alivia was ever mean or insulting to anyone, especially since she had no way of knowing that Megahertz was a supervillain.

"You're coming with me, kid." Megahertz told me, smiling cockily as he advanced on me.

"No one's going anywhere." Alivia retorted, her face hardening. "Certainly not with you."

"Liv, run." I hissed. I didn't want her to get involved in this, but she shook her head, standing her ground.

"No." She retorted. Megahertz rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to waste my time on you." He declared before firing a ball of red electricity at her. Alivia raised her arms to defend herself, but couldn't stop the complete force of the electricity. It knocked her clean off her feet, throwing her into a nearby brick wall. She hit the ground with a thud, and didn't move to get up.

"Alivia!" I shouted, but she didn't respond in the slightest. I turned to Megahertz, my heart beating wildly in my chest. "What are the chances of you accepting my apology and letting us go?"

He smiled cruelly, and I knew I had my answer.

**Dani's POV**

"Why do we have to do all the work?" Kaz complained as he walked past Skylar and I, pushing a cart with a TV on it.

"We're not doing all the work. You are." I corrected teasingly. Skylar nodded.

"We agree." She added, briefly glancing at the cardboard cutout of herself that Kaz and I had brought from The Domain. "Man, I love this thing. Is it weird that she's my best friend?"

I shrugged before glancing at my phone. "What's wrong?" Kaz questioned as he pushed the TV into position. "Oliver not answering your texts or something."

"No…well, he isn't, but he tends to forget to check his messages, so I'm not worried. It's Liv. She left me a message earlier, something about wanting to chat, but every time I tried to call her back, I keep getting her voicemail."

"Her phone's probably dead or something." He replied, shrugging. "Or maybe she's hanging with Oliver. I mean, he's probably got his feet up somewhere, just hanging around."

**Oliver's POV**

"Let me go!" I cried, struggling. Once we had gotten to his secret lair (a dirty looking, old power station overlooking the city) Megahertz had locked me up with my feet hanging from electric chains coming from the ceiling. Not only was I unable to touch the ground, but hanging upside down like this had to be one of the most uncomfortable positions ever. "The blood is rushing to my head!"

"Fine! Just stop whining! I'm supposed to be torturing you!" Megahertz finally agreed, pressing a button on his arm brace. The chains disappeared and I suddenly found myself falling to the ground. I hit the ground roughly, landing on my shoulder blade.

"Thank you." I grimaced, lying on my back.

**Dani's POV**

It was a while before Tecton finally showed, but eventually, I caught sight of him walking through the halls towards us.

"Tecton!" I called the superhero over. "Have you heard the news?"

"Yeah, that annoying weird kid is dating a supermodel." He replied, vaguely gesturing in Alan's direction. I raised an eyebrow, not believing that for a second, but chose not to comment on it.

"No, this news is even more disturbing." Skylar told him. "Megahertz has abducted Oliver."

"We should check for updates on the all-too-real news." Kaz insisted. He turned on the TV, playing the news footage he'd put together.

" _Later in the broadcast, superhero summer wear – cape or no cape."_ The news lady announced.  _"But first, details on Tecton's sidekick Oliver, who was abducted today."_

The footage quickly changed to the video Kaz had showed me earlier, the one of Oliver saying that he loved smelling dogs' butts.

"I wonder why they're showing that." Kaz chuckled nervously. "It's true, but hardly newsworthy."

"Please, you really expect me to believe this?" Tecton scoffed.

"We were hoping." I replied.

"I know what you're doing. You're trying to get Oliver fired because you're jealous that he gets to sweep my house…for landmines." Tecton told us before walking away. We all looked at each other.

"Well, that went well." Kaz commented dryly.

"I'll let Ollie know." I offered, sending my brother a quick text.

**Oliver's POV**

"Sit." Megahertz ordered, pushing me towards the stairs near where I'd been hanging. I complied just as my phone, currently sitting on a nearby table, buzzed.

"It's Dani." Megahertz read the text. "According to this, your plan is off."

"Please let me go." I pleaded with him.

"Oh, I'll let you go." Megahertz assured me. "Once Tecton comes to rescue you and I destroy him by filling this room with his mortal weakness, Gargulon gas."

He hit a few buttons on my phone, then held it up to his ear, waiting. Eventually, someone on the other line must have picked up. "Tecton, it's Megahertz. I've abducted your sidekick."

He paused, listening. Whatever Tecton said, he didn't like very much. "This is Megahertz! And I suggest you show up at the old industrial power station at 9:00 tonight, if you want to see Oliver alive again."

He waited again, then let out a frustrated shout as he pulled the phone away from his ear. "He thinks I'm someone named Kaz! Who's named Kaz anyway? Seriously?"

"Well, your real name is Leslie." I pointed out.

"Zip it!" He shouted, shutting me up. I gulped nervously, thinking hard. If Tecton believed that the call was from Kaz, that meant that he didn't believe that I was in trouble. Which meant that no one was coming to save me. "Eventually, Tecton will realize you're missing and come looking for you. Then he'll step right into my trap."

Suddenly, Tecton's gauntlet began beeping consistently, the lights on it beginning to dim. "Uh, looks like your power level is low." I pointed out, thinking quickly. "I have an idea. How about you go plug yourself in and recharge, and I'll go get Tecton and tell him that you're looking for him."

I got up and tried to leave the room, hoping he's go for it, but no luck. The second I got near the middle of the room, a cage of red electricity appeared around me, sizzling and sparking. "Or, I could stay here in this cage of electricity."

He left me there and headed over to the side of the room, plugging into a device so that he could recharge his batteries. I waited a bit, wanting to make sure he was really asleep, then desperately tried to think of a way out of this.

Luckily, the place was a mess, and there were some old clothes hangers sitting on the ground nearby. It took a little work, but eventually I managed to pull them into the cage with me without getting electrocuted. "Man, for a guy with a limited wardrobe, he sure has a lot of coat hangers." I commented, glancing at the pile of clothes hangers.

Tying them together the best I could, I formed a long stick out of the hangers. Being extra careful not to touch the cage (the hangers were metal and if they touched the electric bars at all, then I would be toast), I slid the stick through the bars, extending it so that I could reach Megahertz. My phone was still in his hand, but if I could get to it, I could call for help.

After a few nerve-racking attempts, I managed to hook the end of the clothes hanger onto the case, and I pulled it towards me. I hit the first speed dial button I could, and waited for an answer.

" _Hey Ollie. What's up?"_  My sister, thank goodness.

"Dani, I've been captured by Megahertz. He's holding me prisoner." I hissed, trying not to wake the supervillain. To my surprise, my sister laughed.

" _Tecton didn't for it. Let it go, Ollie."_  She told me. She paused before speaking to someone else on her end.  _"We are not sending him his head!"_

"I'm serious. Megahertz trapped me in an electrical cage." I insisted. "I'll show you."

I changed the call to a video chat and held the camera up to show them the cage and Megahertz.

" _You're not kidding."_  My sister realized.

"You need to hurry. Megahertz is almost done recharging his power source." I told her.

" _Ollie…cutting…barely hear…"_  The video started filling with static, the concerned faces of my friends becoming harder to see.

"The power grids must be interfering with my phone." I told them.

" _Power…course! The accident…Megahertz…cyborg…abandoned power station."_  Kaz said. I didn't catch some of it, but I caught the important stuff.

"Yes, that's where I am!" I encouraged.

" _We'll call Tecton."_  Skylar promised.

"No, wait! It's a trap!" I tried to warn them, but it was too late; my phone cut off midsentence. "No! Now my phone dies, really? But when Grandma's babbling on about how she picked out the perfect cantaloupe, full charge."

I just hoped that they could get here soon, and that they got the last part of my sentence.

**Dani's POV**

"Ollie!" I smiled in relief after catching sight of my brother in the middle of the power station. Despite the fact that he was trapped in a really confining electric cage, he didn't appear to be harmed. "Guys, in here!"

I ran into the room, immediately slowing down when I saw that Megahertz was resting near the back of the room. "Thank goodness you're alright."

Ollie nodded at me, then looked at us. "What took you guys so long?"

"Are you kidding?" Kaz questioned. "We just sprinted six miles."

"Dani and I sprinted. You rode on my back." Skylar corrected.

"Tell me you guys didn't call Tecton." Ollie pleaded with us. For some reason, he didn't seem to have wanted us to do that.

"Don't worry; I left him a message, explaining that you were actually captured, and I told him to bring a tarp." Kaz assured him. My brother stared at him.

"Trap. Not tarp, trap." He exclaimed. "I said to tell him it was a trap."

"Oh." In hindsight, we should have realized that.

"I told you tarp didn't make any sense!" Skylar hissed at Kaz and I.

"In our defense, tarps can be very helpful." I defended the two of us. "Ask any wet baseball field."

Ollie sighed in defeat. "We've got to figure out a way to deactivate this cage." Skylar decided.

"You know what would come in handy right now?" Kaz questioned, looking at Ollie. "A tarp."

"Wait." My brother stopped him. "In the Tecton Trilogy, Tecton escaped from the Parasite's force field by rerouting its powers through a metal object."

"Like this rack." I had noticed a metal rack near the entrance, but had paid it no mind until now. I ran over to it and rolled it back. I looked at my brother. "Ready?"

He nodded and I pushed the rack into the electrical cage, making sure to step back before it made contact. The electricity flowed over the rack and Ollie climbed out from under it. Almost as soon as he was free, the cage itself disappeared, its energy having been drained.

"C'mom, let's get out of here before Megahertz powers back up." Skylar ordered, ushering us all towards the door. We had almost made it when we heard Megahertz' voice.

"Too late! Don't move!" The supervillain shouted, a ball of electricity appearing in his hands. "Where is Tecton?"

"Don't worry; he'll be here." Kaz assured him.

"Well, to make sure, I'll just have to send him another message." Megahertz tossed the ball between his hands. "This one written on your lifeless bodies."

"Not going to happen." A distinctively familiar voice announced. We all turned to see a tall, red-headed superhero walk into the room. She was lean, with pale skin, though it could have been the dark color of her outfit making it seem more white. She wore a pair of dark green pants and a sleeveless dark green shirt that only went down to just above her belly button, her outfit accented by a pair of lighter green boots and gloves, along with a matching superhero mask. But the mask did nothing to hide her identity from us.

"Alivia?" I demanded, staring at her. Her lips twitched upwards in a smile, but then she focused back on Megahertz.

"Megahertz, good to see you again." She mused. The cyborg rolled his eyes.

"Little Geminus. Didn't I kick your ass hard enough last time to get you to stay away?" He questioned. She laughed lightly.

"Nope." She replied, crossing her arms. Suddenly, her body appeared to change, twisting and splitting apart until there were three of her standing in front of us. "Bring it."

She didn't wait for Megahertz to reply, instead letting the duplicate on the right charge forward. Megahertz shot a blast of electricity at her. The redheaded hero ducked to avoid it, but didn't manage to avoid Megahertz punch to the face. She staggered back, but it seemed to be part of the plan, as the other two duplicates raced forward then, barreling right into Megahertz. They knocked the supervillain off his balance and through the window right next to him. He fell through, falling to the ground far below.

"Well, that was easy." The duplicate in the middle declared, smiling to herself proudly. We all just stared at her, stunned, not looking away even when Tecton flew in from outside. He looked around, obviously expecting a fight, but nodded appreciatively at Alivia/Geminus when he realized that she must have handled it.

"I came as soon as I got your message." He told us. "But it doesn't look like you need me or this tarp."

He handed the folded up tarp to Kaz, then walked up to the window to stand next to Geminus. He looked down and grimaced at what he saw. "That looks like it mega-hurts." He joked.

He turned to Alivia. "Nice work." He complimented her. "You showed true bravery. I'll make sure to mention this to Clone Master the next time I see him."

"Thank you." Alivia smiled proudly. He turned to my brother.

"Oliver, I know I asked you to be my sidekick, but I realize now that I don't need the help, so long as there are other superheroes in the world to help." He told me. "So I'm afraid that-"

"I'm fired?" Ollie guessed. Tecton nodded.

"I want to thank you, Oliver. Even though it seems like you were just doing busy work, you actually freed me up to prevent an asteroid from destroying the sun, so, in a way, by making my ceiling bed, you helped save humanity. Anyway, I now release you from the oath of heroes." He told me before flying out the window, presumably to deal with Megahertz.

"So…" I cleared my throat, turning to Alivia. "You got something you wanna tell us?"

**Oliver's POV**

"So, basically, you've been Geminus this whole time and you never told us?" I questioned, taking a seat. Alivia had insisted on waiting until we got back to Mighty Med for her to tell us the truth, so we were now all relaxing in the rec room. Skylar And I took up the two seats in front of the TV, while Kaz and Dani were on the couch together, looking up at the Irish sidekick.

"Yes." She nodded. She sighed. "When you guys started working here at Mighty Med, the League of Heroes was concerned that a villain could capture one of you to learn the secrets of Mighty Med, and you wouldn't have powers to protect yourself. So, they decided that they would need someone to keep an eye on your guys."

"And they chose you." Dani commented. Geminus nodded.

"Yes. I'm the right age to fit in at your school, and with my abilities, I can watch all of you at once by being in more than one place at one time." She replied. "My job was to protect you guys."

"Since we've met you, we've been attacked by Brain Matter in his monster form, Crimson Demon, and Megahertz." Kaz pointed out.

"I said protecting you was my job, I didn't say I was good at it." The redhead insisted. "Anyway, that's why I came to Logan High in the first place."

"And why you became friends with us." Skylar added.

"No, I actually don't hate you. That's why I'm friend with you." Geminus replied, taking a seat net to Dani. My sister looked at her, then bumped her shoulder into her friend's, smiling to let her know that they were cool. "You guys mad?"

"Nah." "I actually think it's cool." Kaz and I replied. Skylar frowned.

"Wait." She stopped her. "Did you know that I was…"

"Skylar Storm?" Geminus nodded. "Yeah, but I couldn't give away my cover."

"Fair enough." Skylar nodded.

"Thanks for coming to save us." I told her. "Or, in original Galtraxian, kurbok fass. Kurbok fass to all of you, actually, for having my back."

"Zu karv." They all replied.

"Look, Oliver, I never should have gotten jealous of you becoming Tecton's sidekick." Kaz apologized to me. I looked at him, not having expected that. "It should have been me who he chose, so technically it should have been you that was jealous, so I forgive you, Oliver."

I sighed, shaking my head. "We don't need a superhero's sidekick. We're each other's sidekicks."

"Besides, the three of us are better off saving the people who save people rather than saving people." Dani added.

"Trademark that." Kaz told her, seriously. "Before someone beats you to it."

"Too late – I saw Horace walking around with that on a shirt earlier." Skylar pointed out.


	9. The Friend of my Friend is my Enemy

**Oliver's POV**

"Morning Oliver." Alivia called to me as I walked into Mighty Med, waving at me slightly from her spot at the counter in front of Dani. Ever since she'd revealed that she was Geminus, she'd started hanging out with us at work, kinda like Skylar did. It was a little weird to see her in uniform so often, though it was pretty cool to be able to look on the SNN and see one of your best friends saving lives.

"Hey, you got up before me." My sister frowned at me. I nodded.

"You're observant today." I replied. She rolled her eyes.

"You're never up before me; most days, I have to wake you up when I get home from my morning jog." She pointed out.

"I had to get something." I told her.

"Like what?" Kaz questioned, walking over. I grinned, and pulled a loop of small pieces of coal out of my pocket, holding it out proudly.

"I made a friendship bracelet for Skylar." I announced. Their reactions were…well, what I expected.

"Congratulations. You are now officially a nine-year-old girl." Kaz told me, smirking, as Dani took the bracelet to examine.

"Ollie, I know I'm not one of those girls who like jewelry, but you do realize that these are coal, right?" She questioned, tossing it back to me.

"Well, I think it's cute." Alivia told her.

"Thank you, Alivia." I smiled at the red-head, taking the bracelet back from my sister. "And I'm not giving her coal, Dee."

"No?" My sister raised an eyebrow. I shook my head and walked over to The Crusher. After quickly explaining what I wanted, he nodded and took it in his hand, using all his force to crush the coal. When he opened his hand, the pressure had already done its work on the balls of coal, turning them into beautiful, gleaming diamonds.

"Thank you, Crusher." I told the man before bring the newly transformed bracelet over to them. "What do you think?"

"She'll love it." Alivia cooed, smiling.

"Why are you giving her this?" Kaz questioned, confused.

"Because I care about her, as a friend." I replied. "And if she happens to thank me with a giant hug and kiss, then so be it."

"Cool." Kaz nodded.

"Dani, what do you think?" I asked, but my sister wasn't paying attention.

"Mmm." She hummed pleasantly. "Who is that?"

Looking at the door, I could immediately tell exactly who she was talking about. The guy who'd just walked in was tall, with slick black hair. He was wearing a slim, red super suit, with a grey insignia that kinda looked like two sideways horseshoes with lightning bolts coming out of either end.

"That's Experion." Kaz grinned.

"I'm gonna go say hi." Dani decided, walking over to him. Alivia frowned.

"Experion…he's that hero from Caldera, right?" She questioned. Kaz nodded.

"He's the second coolest teenager in the universe." He agreed. We looked at him and he grinned, pointing at himself with his thumbs. "The coolest, of course, is Billy Fowler. Because he does this." He continued to point his thumbs at himself.

"Well, I think Dani would disagree about him being the second coolest." Alivia chuckled. My sister was chatting up Experion, a bright smile on her face and her hair brushed out of the way so she could show off her green eyes.

"Wow. He's so cool with his magnetic powers and ability to manipulate gravity. I wonder what he's doing here." I hummed.

"Experion?" I looked up at the sound of Skylar's voice. She was standing near the hallway, her mouth open in a wide grin. She back flipped over the counter separating the two, and rushed to hug him. "I can't believe it! It's so good to see you!"

I scowled, my attitude changing more and more with each second that they held onto each other for. "Look at him. Thins he's so amazing with his magnetic powers and ability to manipulate gravity. What's he doing here?"

"Uh…" Dani looked back at us, a little peeved at Experion for ignoring her in favor of Skylar. She coughed loudly, getting both heroes' attention. "Sorry. Dry throat."

"Uh, guys." Skylar stepped away from the tall superhero. "This is Experion. He's my best friend from my home planet, Caldera. We used to live next door to each other."

"Well, I'm Oliver." I introduced myself. "I'm her best friend from this planet. And I used to live next door to an Amenian deli."

"Worst four years of our lives." Dani made a face. She then smiled prettily at Experion. "I'm Dani, by the way. Dani Short. And you're Experion."

"I am." Experion chuckled, shaking her hand. When she didn't let go, Kaz stepped in.

"I'm Kaz, by the way." He told the guy, pulling Dani away. "And red head here is Geminus."

"Nice to meet you." Alivia smiled at him. He nodded at her before looking at Skylar.

"I heard you were ambushed by the Annihilator and lost your powers." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But don't worry; I'll find a way to get them back for you, Sky."

"I'll restore your powers if it's the last thing I do." I intervened before Skylar could reply.

"That's nice." Experion told me before smiling back at Skylar. "But Skylar, I'm going to make it the first thing I do."

He began to lead her away, his arm on her shoulder, but Dani stopped them. "So, Experion, what are you doing here, anyway? I'm just asking, because it is a hospital." She mentioned.

"And more importantly, when are you leaving?" I added.

"As soon as I get these kidney stones taken care of." Experion replied. "I destroyed a deadly meteor, and a few pieces got stuck in my kidney."

"Wow." Dani beamed. "You have to tell me more about it."

"Or, we could, you know, go do our job." Kaz reminded her. She brushed him away, a dreamy look on her face.

"Well, I'll see you all later." Experion turned to Skylar. "C'mon cutie; let's go hang out."

"Awesome." Dani grinned. Experion looked at her, and she realized her misunderstanding. "Oh, her."

Skylar immediately began fell into a cartwheel and Experion instinctively grabbed her waist, allowing her movement to propel him into a similar acrobatic motion. Dani went to follow them, but Kaz stopped her by grabbing her wrist.

"If you follow them, I will mock you for it. Eternally." He warned her. She sighed.

"But he's…fine." She scowled. "But you're helping me with my next patient."

She dragged him away with her, though he wasn't struggling all that much. Alivia turned to me, a soft smile on her face. "Well, this is going to be an interesting week."

**Alan's POV**

I was just putting the finishing touches on my masterpiece when Geminus walked in. The Irish sidekick had been hanging around here for a week, though she wasn't admitted for anything, so I assumed she'd made friends with those Normos.

"Hello Alan." She smiled brightly at me at first, then frowned in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"I created my own comic about the greatest superhero of all time." I announced proudly, standing up to show her. "Me."

"Really?" She took it from me, slowing scanning the pages. She read the title out loud. "'Awesome Man: The Adventures of the Not-At-All Awkward Superhero Who Everyone Respects'."

"What do you think?" I questioned hopefully. She hesitated.

"It's a…very unique title, Alan." She told me. I nodded, glad that she seemed to like it.

"Thanks, but the Mighty Med comic book company won't publish it because of some technicality." I continued as she read through it. "They say it's too horrible."

"Uh-huh." She hummed as she kept reading.

"So I decided I would self-publish and sell them in the Normo world." I informed her. "Uh, do you know where the Normos go to buy comics?"

"Well, Kaz, Oliver, and Dani go to The Domain, but Alan, you can't publish this." She told me. "It reveals every secret about Mighty Med."

I rolled my eyes. "Normos don't even know this place exists." I reminded her. "They'll think it's all fake. Besides, I changed some things." I took the comic book from her and opened it up to one of the pages. "See? I gave Kaz the head of a donkey, Dani looks like a milk cow, and Oliver has the body of a snail."

"First of all, Dani will kill you if she ever finds out about the cow thing. Second, you can't publish this. It's a bad idea." The red-head told me. She didn't give me a chance to respond either, instead grabbing a magazine off the table and heading back out of the room.

I glanced at my comic book, deciding that I was going to go with my gut rather than listen to the advice of some sidekick.

**Oliver's POV**

"Uh, no. You're wrong." I insisted, looking at my sister.

"Am I?" She hummed in response. "Heroes run the risk of getting their capes caught in things, or being used against them by their enemies. There's a reason most heroes wear tight-fitting material like spandex."

"But they make the hero more aerodynamic." I pointed out. Dani rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, Ollie. We both know I'm right." She looked up as Kaz walked up to the counter. "Right Kaz?"

"I'm with Oliver." He told us without looking up. Dani gave him a pointed look while I smirked triumphantly.

"Hey guys." Skylar beamed at us, cartwheeling into the room. "So, what do you guys think of my friend, Expy? Isn't he just the best?"

"Yeah, you know what I like most about him? What's the word I'm looking for?" I pretended to think about it. "Oh, right. Nothing. I like nothing about him."

"Hey! Don't talk about him like that! You shut your filthy word maker!" Dani snapped. I gave her a look, trying to get her to be quiet and hoping her little crush wouldn't last for very long. Unfortunately, Dani didn't often fall for guys, but when she did, she fell hard.

"Oliver, how can you not like Experion? That's like not liking diarrhea!" Skylar exclaimed, shocked. Kaz, Dani, and I all looked at her, disgusted. She looked at us in confusion for a moment, before her face cleared and she explained. "On my planet, 'diarrhea' is the word for 'candy'."

Well, that made a little more sense. "If we ever visit your planet, remind me to bring a phrase book." Kaz told her.

"Look, I just don't trust him." I told Skylar sincerely. "I mean, he says you're 'besties' but he doesn't want to be your friend."

"Of course he does." Skylar frowned.

"Oh, sweetheart, no he doesn't." Alivia commented, walking past us. She leaned up against the counter, opening up a magazine. "He wants to be your boyfriend."

"What?" Skylar laughed. "We're just friends and nothing more."

"I hate to tell you, but no guy is friends with a girl unless he has a crush on her." I pointed out.

"That's ridiculous. We're friends and you don't have a crush on me." She said.

"Uh, right." I nodded quickly. "Ew, girls. Cooties."

**Alan's POV**

Choosing to ignore Geminus' advice, I tracked down that comic book store that she'd mentioned from earlier. Luckily, it wasn't far, only a few blocks away from the secret entrance to Mighty Med.

I walked in purposefully, promising myself I wasn't going to leave until they agreed to put copies of my comic book on their shelves. "Good afternoon, fine human shopkeepers." I greeted the two men who appeared to be in charge of the store. They both looked identical – they even had the same haircuts, though the one on the left was wearing glasses and the one on the right was not. "I am a human comic book publisher, with a sure-fire human bestseller right here in my human hands."

"Look, we'd like to help you-" The one with the glasses began, only to be cut off by the one without.

"No, we wouldn't." He interrupted.

"Actually, he's right. We really wouldn't." The other one agreed.

"Well, I will not take 'no' for an answer." I declared, stopping them from making their escape. "So, will you read my comic book?"

"No." They both said in unison.

"Will you read my comic book?" I questioned.

"No." They both said again.

"Will you read my comic book?" I questioned.

"No." They both said again.

"Will you read my comic book?" I questioned.

"No." They both said again.

"Will you read my comic book?" I questioned.

"Wow, he really will not take no for an answer." The one with glasses realized.

"Will you take 'nyet' for an answer?" The other one asked.

"Nyet." I replied patiently.

"'Chigaimasu' for an answer?"

"Chigaimasu." I responded.

"Will you take…" He made a motion with his hands, signing the word 'no' in sign language, "…for an answer?"

I quickly signed my response back at him as young Normo boy, scrawny, a few inches shorter than me and wearing thick rimmed glasses, walked past me.

"Okay, look. Tell you what." The one with glasses pulled the kid over. "Why don't you discuss this with our newly-hired comic book consultant?" He told me.

"Yeah, Gus, read this kid's comic and tell us what you think." The one without glasses told the kid.

"What's in it for me?" Gus questioned.

"You get to ruthlessly judge someone." The one in glasses responded. Gus grinned.

"I'm in! You're ugly!" He exclaimed gleefully.

"No, not me! Him." The one with glasses snapped. "And that hurt my feelings."

"Yeah, he's doing the best he can with what he's got." His twin insisted before the two walked away. I turned to their comic book consultant.

"I should tell you now, I won't take no for an answer." I gave him the same warning I'd given the other two. He considered that.

"Will you take…" He then spoke in a foreign language, one I hadn't studied but had heard a few times around the hospital. I responded back in the same manned, giving him my response. He nodded thoughtfully. "Fair enough."

**Oliver's POV**

"Alright, Citadel." I walked over to my latest patient, a superhero with skin made of indestructible metal, after grabbing a device out of a nearby cupboard. "Because of your impenetrable skin, I'll be using this highly sensitive, super-powerful stethoscope."

I put the two buds into my ears, immediately wincing in pain as a loud, high-pitched sound echoed in my ears. I reached for the controls on the device, turning its power down as far as it could go – it was still extremely powerful, but at least I wouldn't be able to hear people halfway across the world now. "This is so powerful, I just heard a pin drop; a bowling pin; in Honduras."

I brought the end of the device closer to Citadel, and even a foot away from him, I could hear the faint sound of his heartbeat. "That's better." I got closer so I could hear the heartbeat better, but instead heard the sound of someone talking.

"Is that Experion?" I frowned, recognizing the voice.

" _The plan is working perfectly."_  I heard him say.  _"I'm going to sneak up on Skylar, and when she least expects it, choke her. She is going to die."_

My eyes widened in horror. "Oh no! I knew I couldn't trust him, but he's even worse than I thought!"

Suddenly, I heard something even more disturbing. "Ah!" I shouted, ripping the stethoscope's ear bus out of my ears. "This is terrible!"

Citadel looked at me, concerned. "I just heard Horace singing in the shower. He is butchering Beyonce!" I exclaimed. The hero chuckled lightly at that, amused.

**Xxx**

"Ollie!" I stopped pacing when I heard Dani call my name. She was running towards me, Kaz, Skylar, and Alivia hot on her heels. "What's wrong?"

"Yeah, what's this emergency? I dropped everything to be here." Kaz insisted. "Which is really bad because I was holding my baby sister."

"Whom I luckily caught." Dani added. She looked at me. "Ollie, you should see her. She's adorable."

"And why did you text me to 'get black hair right now'?" Skylar demanded. I frowned before checking my text-history. I cursed silently.

"Sorry. Stupid auto-correct changed my worse. I meant 'get back here right now'." I explained.

"Oh, then I'm just going to keep this for myself." Skylar decided, pulling out a long, black wig.

"Look." I stopped her from walking away. "I overhead Experion, and you're right, he doesn't want to be your boyfriend." I told her.

"Well, I was wrong." Alivia sighed.

"He wants to be your ex-boyfriend, because he's going to kill you!" I finished. Skylar didn't believe me.

"Oliver, stop!" She snapped, upset. "Experion really cares about me. In fact, he's flying me back to my home planet. He think he's found a way to restore my powers."

"No, no!" I stopped her when she tried to storm off. "You can't leave with him! I heard him say he was going to choke you when you least expect it!"

"Enough!" Skylar shouted, furious. "I have to go. Experion arranged a full spa treatment for me a five o'clock. Maybe I'll get my new hair done." She pulled on the wig, then walked away, her head held high.

"Well, that could have gone better." Dani stated after a moment of silence.

"Experion's going to attack her during her spa treatment!" I realized. "She'll be lulled into a defenseless state once she's soaking her feet in herbal hot water, with warm wax on her hands, inhaling the aromatherapy eye pillow."

Kaz and Alivia both stared at me. "You know a crazy amount about spa treatments." Kaz commented.

"Mother-son-and-daughter bonding time. Don't judge me!" I muttered.

"It's not nearly as fun as it sounds." Dani commented dryly.

"It doesn't sound fun." Alivia replied.

"Exactly." My sister nodded.

"Experion has everyone fooled, but he's so two-faced, just like the two-faced villain in  _The Crusher Returns._ " I said. Kaz chuckled.

"That guy had the best catchphrase." He smiled. Dani nodded, grinning.,

"'Why don't you say that to my face?'" She quoted. "'Or my other face!'"

"Wait! I have an idea!" I exclaimed, suddenly thinking of something. "I can use Skylar as bait to trick Experion into revealing his true villainous self."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Alivia questioned, frowning. "If Experion really is a villain, then you could be putting Skylar in a lot of danger."

"Another problem; how is she going to be your bait if she doesn't believe you?" Kaz added skeptically. I smirked.

"I know a way." I replied, looking at my sister. She frowned, and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

**Xxx**

Experion walked into the rec room, looking around. Once he spotted the dark-haired girl sitting in the massage chair, facing the wall, he smiled and began to sneak closer to her.

He pulled a thin, gold chain out of his pocket and creeped up on her. The moment he was too close, about to choke her with the chain, I jumped out of the storage cupboard. "Aha!" I shouted as Dani pushed herself out of the chair, brushing the wig's hair behind her head.

"What the-" Experion looked my sister over, confused as to why she would be dressed in Skylar's uniform.

"Trying to strange Skylar, are you?" I accused. Dani looked at the chain, then at Experion.

"Wait, what?" Experion looked at us in confusion.

"Good luck with that; I'm not Skylar." She told him, crossing her arms.

"Uh, yeah, I know." He nodded. "You look nothing like her. She has chestnut brown hair with a pink streak and you have…black horse hair with a fruit strip in it."

Dani subconsciously played with the fruit stripped, blushing a bit in embarrassment. "It was the only wig I could find. Skylar had a wig, we borrowed it." I defended her. "I don't have easy access to wigs."

The doors to the rec room swung open and Skylar walked in. She stopped short when she saw Dani. "I can explain this." Dani laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head with a sheepish smile on her face.

"This should be good." The ex-superhero raised an eyebrow.

"We caught Experion trying to kill you." I told her. "And Kaz and Gem have the whole thing on Kaz's phone."

"Yeah, um…about that." Alivia and Kaz slipped out from behind the exercise equipment. "I forgot to hit the record button."

"Why don't we redo all that that?" Alivia smiled hopefully. Experion sighed and turned to Skylar.

"I don't know what they're talking about." He told her. I scoffed.

"Give it up! I heard you say you were going to choke her, and you're holding a chain!" I snapped.

"Oh, he's got you there." Kaz agreed.

"Yeah, I do have a chain." Experion held out the gold chain. "It's a 14-carat gold choker. It's a present."

"And the plot thickens!" Alivia hissed, amused. I gave her a look.

"But I heard you say 'she's going to die!'." I protested as he handed the gold choker to Skylar, the brunette smiling as she examined it.

"From excitement, after seeing the choker." Experion retorted, obviously annoyed with me.

"It's beautiful! I could just die." Skylar proved his point, beaming up at him.

"He did." Dani agreed. "You just got told."

"Will you all stop it?!" I snapped, glaring at my friends.

"Oliver, what is wrong with you?" Skylar turned on me. "I told you he wasn't trying to kill me."

"Or…was he trying to kill you with kindness?" I suggested.

"Just go." She ordered.

"Okay." I agreed, walking out. Dani, Kaz, and Alivia followed me out.

"Great plan, Ollie." My sister told me, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "If he is evil, there's no way she's ever going to believe us now."

**Alan's POV**

After what seemed like forever, Gus finally came to find me. "So, I read your book, and I have to say…I loved it."

I grinned, overjoyed that at least someone appreciated my comic book. "That's fantastic!"

"I just have a few questions." Gus continued. I nodded. "Do the three blind mice have to be mice? Can they be ninjas instead?" I stared at him, confused. "And does the old woman have to live in a shoe? That doesn't feel very aspirational."

"…What are you talking about?" I was completely bewildered. What mice? What shoe?

"Your story." Gus replied. He held up a book that most definitely was not my comic book.

"What? You read the wrong thing!" I exclaimed, snatching the book from him. "This is a book of nursery rhymes."

"Fine." Gus sighed as I tossed the book away. "Then pitch me your idea, Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary."

"My comic is about a not-at-all-awkward superhero who works at a top-secret hospital called…Mighty Med." My last two words were drowned out by the two shopkeepers, who were using a very loud drill in the background. I looked at them, but since they stopped rather quickly, I didn't comment on it. "There, he toils under the reign of his far-less-attractive, bridge-loving uncle…Horace Diaz." My last two words were unable to be heard again, this time as a result of the loud blender that the store owners were using. I waited until they were finished, then continued. "And the twist is that the location of this top secret superhero hospital is actually inside…a real hospital!" Bagpipes this time! Seriously, what the heck? What was wrong with them?

"Sorry, no sale." Gus told me, to my utter disappointment. "The lead kid is kind of unlikable."

"Your face is kind of unlikable!" I retorted instinctively, offended by what he said. Me? Unlikable?

"Actually, I've been told I have a warm smile-" Gus said, but I cut him off.

"I said kind of unlikable!" I snapped before storming out of the building. This was why I didn't like Normos; they were all stupid and rude!

**Oliver's POV**

"I give up." I decided, sighing in defeat. "I can't prove that Experion's evil; hell I don't even know for sure that he is evil."

"Maybe it's for the best. I mean, if he gets Skylar's powers back for her, that'll be a good thing." Dani told me, sitting down next to me. "Right?"

"Yeah, it will be. I'm just gonna miss, is all." I replied. My sister bumped shoulders with me, trying to be comforting.

"She'll come back. Skylar's not the type to forget her friends. Besides, every superhero wanders into Mighty Med at some point." She reminded me. "This won't be goodbye, not forever at least."

"You're right." I agreed, feeling a little better. "Thanks Dee."

"No prob." She replied as Alivia walked into the room.

"So, what do you think?" She asked nervously, fidgeting with her bracelet. "Date-worthy?"

I looked over her attire, a simple, strapless, dark green dress that ended just past her knees, accessorized with a black belt, black ballerina flats, and a gold bracelet. "I think Jamie's going to love it." I told her. She smiled, brushing down her dress.

"I hope so. You'd think me moving to the US would make dating easier, but it's been ages since we've both had a night off."

"The downside of dating a fellow superhero." Dani pointed out. Kaz walked in, checking things off a clipboard. He glanced up at Alivia.

"Looking good, Red." He complimented before glancing at me. "Hey, if you wanted to say goodbye to Skylar, I just saw her and Experion headed for the door."

"We should apologize." I decided, getting up. Dani nodded and lead the way into the ER. Kaz, Alivia, and I followed her.

Sure enough, Experion and Skylar were walking towards the door, their arms linked tightly. "Skylar." I called, jogging past Dani to meet up with them. They stopped suddenly. Experion faked a smile at us, but Skylar didn't even bother, her expression not a happy one. Which, I suppose, we deserved. "We wanted to say goodbye and apologize."

"To both of you." Alivia added. I nodded.

"Experion, I'm sorry for what I said about you," I told the taller boy, "and wrote about you in my feelings journal."

"He also drew a really mean picture of you in there-" Dani laughed.

"Hey! Stop reading my journal!" I snapped, annoyed. Neither her nor Kaz had any sense of privacy, especially when it came to my feelings journal. They just read it whenever they felt like it, even though they both knew how much it bothered me.

"Well, we really got to go." Experion told us, trying to pull Skylar away.

"Wait!" I stopped them, remembering something. I dug my hand into my pocket, feeling for the bracelet I'd made for Skylar. "Skylar, I'm really going to miss hanging out with you every day, so I got you a present to remember me by." I pulled out the diamond bracelet. "It's a friendship bracelet."

Skylar looked at me for a moment, then smiled brightly. "Diamonds? Aww." She looked at me straight in the eye. "I really prefer coal, but thank you."

Really? Damn. "Goodbye Skylar." I pulled her in for one last hug. "I hope you get your powers back."

"We really gotta go." Experion pulled Skylar back. I nodded.

"Take care of her, Experion." I told him.

"I will." He promised, they tried to leave again.

"Wait, shouldn't you be signing out?" Kaz reminded them.

"Oh…right." Experion nodded and they headed over to the sign-out sheet.

"I can't believe Skylar's really going back to her planet." Dani sighed.

"I can't believe you have her diamonds instead of coal." Kaz snorted in amusement. "Dude, you know nothing about women."

Both Dani and Alivia stared at him like he'd grown another head. Suddenly, what Skylar had said really clicked in my head. She'd said that she preferred coal, but in previous comics, that was the very thing that incapacitated her. It was one of her weaknesses. That meant…

"Something's wrong. Skylar's in danger!" I hissed to the others.

"Are you sure?" Alivia asked hesitantly. I nodded.

"She signaled me. I'll explain later." If Skylar realize was in trouble, then I didn't have time to explain everything now. "We've got to stop him."

Dani raced behind the counter and slid her hand underneath. Judging by the alarms that started to blare and the security bots that flew out from their holes in the walls, she must have hit the security button.

Experion, who'd been trying to leave, stopped when he heard the alarms. Skylar, on the other hand, leapt into action, cartwheeling away from Experion's grasp as the two security bots focused in one him. They shot laser after laser at him, though he managed to dodge their attacks.

"Skylar!" I hissed as she ducked behind the nearest counter to us. She knelt next to Alivia, a couple of feet away from where Kaz and I were hiding. Dani was stuck in the middle of the circle of counters, though since they protected her on all side from attacks, it wasn't such a bad thing. Skylar smiled at me from her hiding spot, grateful.

Meanwhile, Experion used his magnetic abilities to slam the two security bots together, the force of the impact destroying them in a fiery explosion.

"You think you can hide?" He called confidently, raising his hands. The counters began to rise off the ground, until they were floating near the ceiling. We all looked at each other as Experion used his abilities to destroy them.

Our gazes met, and he leapt into the air, heading straight for us. We moved instantly, rushing out of harm's way.

Kaz, Dani, Alivia, and I rushed to the side of the room, while Skylar took on Experion by herself. They both attacked each other, neither one pulling punches, but it didn't matter; they knew each other's moves too well for either to get the upper hand.

"Why aren't you helping?" I demanded, looking at Alivia. Her mouth was set in a thin line, her face expressionless.

"Experion stabbed her in the back; Skylar's going to want to be the one to defeat him." She said simply.

"But she can't defeat him, not like this anyway." I insisted.

"Experion's weaknesses…anyone remember what they are?" Dani questioned.

"Um…He can't see in the dark. No one from Caldera can." I pointed out.

"But then Skylar wouldn't be able to see either." Dani argued, wincing as Experion managed to kick Skylar into the wall.

"What about night vision goggles?" Kaz suggested as Experion tried to drop a shelf on top of Skylar. She managed to roll out of the way in time, but it was clear that she was beginning to lose steam. "There's got to be some here somewhere."

"We'll find them." Alivia told us. She suddenly split into four identical copies of herself. The four Alivias split up in search of the goggles while we watched the fight between Experion and Skylar continue. Skylar spun on one leg, aiming a kick at his head, but he managed to dodge it, grabbing her wrist at the last second. He flipped her over his shoulder, the momentum dropping her to the ground. She landed on her back, hard, but managed to recover from it quickly. She rolled back to her feet, landing in a fighting stance.

"Skylar, catch!" One of the Alivias shouted, tossing her a pair of night-vision goggles. The duplicate disappeared, as did two of the other ones as the real Alivia ran towards us, shoving night-vision goggles into our hands.

"Kaz, the lights!" I ordered. He hit the switch without a second's thought, the entire room going dark. The moment I pulled on the goggles, my vision was bathed in green. I could see Skylar and Experion standing in the middle of the room, Experion looking around in confusion as to why he couldn't see anything at all.

Skylar took advantage of his weakness, kicking him in the stomach. He swung at her blindly, but she grabbed his wrist, did a one-handed cartwheel, and wrapped her legs around his neck. She used her weight to bring him down to the ground, twisting so as to not hurt herself.

"Damn, remind me to get her to teach me that." Dani whispered, watching in excitement. Experion got to his feet and continued to swing at her, but he missed every time. Skylar landed a few really good punches and kicks to his gut, shoving him backwards until he was a couple of inches away from the wall.

Experion raised a hand and used his magnetic abilities to pull a large metal device towards them, intending for it to crash into her from behind.

"Skylar, look out!" Kaz shouted. Skylar looked behind her, then cartwheeled out of the machine's path. Experion, unable to see that she had moved, continued to pull the machine towards him, until it smashed right into him, crushing him against the wall.

We pulled off our night-vision goggles, and Kaz hit the lights, just as two of Mighty Med's security guards appeared.

"Take him away to Mighty Max." Alivia ordered. They pulled him away from the machine and walked him towards the center of the room.

Experion laughed nervously, glancing at Skylar. "So, uh…can we still be friends?" He asked hopefully. She gave him a disgusted look, but didn't answer. The guards dragged Experion away, heading towards Mighty Max Prison, where all the captured villains were held. As they did, a young woman with short blond hair – styled similarly to Dani's, but longer and without the bangs – walked in. She was wearing a black skirt and a golden, sleeveless top.

"Uh, what did I miss?" She questioned, watching the guards drag Experion away.

"Big fight, butts kicked, the usual." Alivia smiled brilliantly at the girl. She glanced at us. "Oh, these are those friends I was telling you about; Kaz, Oliver, Dani, and Skylar. Guys, this is my girlfriend, Jaime, AKA Spark."

"Cool." "Big fan." "Nice dress." "Nice to meet you." We all responded.

"Ready?" Spark held out her hand. Alivia took it, then glanced at us.

"You guys are good?" She checked.

"Go have fun." I encouraged. She smiled.

"See you tomorrow." She called over her shoulder as she and Spark walked away.

"Well, tonight's been interesting." Dani commented, referring to the Experion business. Skylar nodded.

"Thank you. You guys saved my life." She told us. "Thankfully you got my signal about the coal. Guess you know me better than I knew Experion."

She held out her arms for a hug, and I pushed Kaz out of my way so I could accept it. "That's what friends are for." I told her. I pulled away after a long moment. "And I'm sorry you won't be getting your powers back, but I'm glad you're okay."

"Me too." She replied, smiling. She looked around the room. "We should go – I don't want to get in the way of the cleaning crew."

"Wanna hang out?" I suggested. "Maybe we could go see a movie?"

"Sure." Dani smiled. I looked at her pointedly. "Oh, her."

"They're playing that new fantasy movie you were talking about." I said, remembering the movie trailer she'd be intrigued with.

"That sounds fun." Skylar smiled at me. I grinned. YES! "You guys coming?" NO!

"Nah, we're good." Thankfully, Dani had realized that I wanted to spend some alone time with Skylar. She glanced at Kaz. "Kaz and I were going to go check out that new X-Men movie."

"We are?" Kaz asked. Dani nodded. "Sweet!"

"See ya guys later." Dani mentioned as she and Kaz headed for the door. Skylar turned to me, smiling.

"You coming?" She asked. I nodded, grinning. Man, was I going to have a lot to write in my journal tonight.

**Alan's POV**

After cooling down a bit, I decided that I was going to try one last time to get the Normos to sell my comic book. "Hello, fine human shopkeepers." I announced, walking back into The Domain. "I've decided to give you one last human chance to buy my comic book that takes place in…" They turned on the paper shredded, getting rid of a large poster board. "Mighty Med."

"I'm sorry, what was that?" The one with glasses asked, turning off the shredder.

"Will you buy my comic book?" I questioned. "And remember, I will not take 'no' for an answer."

"Will you take 'non' for an answer?" He asked.

"Non." I replied.

"Will you take 'hayir' for an answer?" He questioned.

"Hayir." I denied.

"'Hapana'?" He tried.

"Hapana." I retorted.

"'Nahim'?" Now, my patience was really wearing thing.

"Nahim!" I snapped.

"Look, kid, we're sorry, but we already found the next big thing." The guy with glasses told me. As it turns out, their 'next big thing' was just Gus turning those nursery rhymes into a comic book.

Annoyed, I went to leave, but not before discreetly placing my comic book on one of the shelves. Eventually, someone would go to purchase it, and the shopkeepers will realize that it was their next bestseller.


	10. Atomic Blast from the Past

**Oliver's POV**

It was an average Sunday afternoon at Mighty Med – few heroes in the hospital, no emergencies in the world, and not even busy work to keep us occupied. And there was nobody around for me to talk to. Kaz was busy copying down my homework before Monday's class, and Dani's shift wasn't supposed to start for another five minutes. As for our favorite heroes, Skylar was at the mall, buying more Normo clothes so she wouldn't have to keep borrowing Dani's older stuff, and Alivia was in California with Clone Master, checking out some potential new superheroes. She had sounded interested in it, but Clone Master had questioned whether or not they would be a good fit, so they were just investigating them for now.

Eventually, that led me to the lost and found box that Horace kept under the counter. I figured, why not check out what's in there? I might find something interesting.

As it turns out, I was right. "This is so cool." I grinned, examining its contents.

"What is?" Dani inquired, walking up to the desk. I hadn't noticed her come back in, but she couldn't have been here long; she'd yet to change out of her red and black soccer uniform.

"All this stuff in the lost and found." I explained, pulling item after item out of it. "Kaz, check this out."

Kaz shrugged and walked around the counter to get a better view at the items. He glanced at them briefly before grabbing a sandwich I'd pulled out from the box and beginning to snack on it.

"Some of these things have been in here for decades." I commented, looking around at the lost items.

"Including that sandwich." My sister added, glancing at Kaz. He looked up at her then, after deciding that she wasn't trying to screw with him, turned around and spit out the large bite he'd taken.

"This is like digging through the history of Mighty Med!" I grinned.

"Boring." Kaz yawned mockingly. "I don't care about the past."

"Which explains why you failed our history test." I commented dryly.

"It was a hard test." Dani said quickly, trying to defend both her and Kaz's Fs.

"Actually, that's not why I failed." Kaz chuckled a bit. "I followed the wrong kids into the wrong classroom. But I did learn the French word for umbrella."

"What is it?" I asked, doubting that he actually learned anything from walking into the wrong class.

"I don't know. It was yesterday." He deadpanned. "I told you, I don't care about the past."

I rolled my eyes, then continued to dig through the box. "Look, Optimo's Dagger of Truth, the Shawl of Invisibility," I pushed the items out of the way and pulled out a white, rectangular box out. It was just a bit bigger than my hand, and the front was decorated with grey buttons and a small blank screen. "…this thing."

"Oliver?" Horace stopped next to Dani and took the device from me, examining it with a look of surprised awe on his face. "My goodness, a wormhole transporter! "I haven't seen one of these in years!"

"A what?" Dani frowned, brushing her bangs away from her face as she looked at Horace in confusion.

"A wormhole transporter." He repeated patiently. "In the 1950s, superheroes used these to reverse time by opening wormholes in space. But they were banned because every so often a hero would get lost in time, or explode into a million tiny pieces."

"That sounds messy." Dani commented, wrinkling her nose at the prospect. Horace nodded in agreement.

"I usually love confetti, but that…not so festive." He shuddered at the thought. Kaz glanced at me.

"Told you old things are lame." He mumbled.

"How could you think that's lame?" Both Dani and I turned on him.

"I was talking about Horace." Kaz explained, keeping his voice low in hopes that our boss wouldn't hear him. Then he looked at the device, taking it out of Horace's hands. "But this thing looks lame too. I bet it can't even take pictures."

He held it up and aimed the end with a circular film at an empty part of the building and pressed a button. It didn't take a picture, but instead, a glowing whitish-blue portal opened up before our eyes. A tall man wearing a very cliché blue uniform with red-striped boots, red gloves, and a red A on his chest jumped out from the portal seconds before it disappeared. We all stared at him, shocked.

"Jeepers!" He exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips. "Where am I?"

"Who is that and where did he come from?" Kaz demanded, stunned.

"I've seen him before, in some comic book." Dani hummed thoughtfully, trying to remember. But I knew who he was instantly.

"That's Captain Atomic!" I exclaimed.

"And I'd say he came from 1953." Horace added as Captain Atomic began to talk to some of the nearby doctors and nurses.

"1953?" Kaz repeated. "That was, like, a hundred years ago."

"Which explains why you also failed our math test." I sighed. Kaz looked at me, annoyed, then brushed it off.

"And who's Captain Atomic anyway? I've never heard of him." He continued.

"if Grandpa Peter didn't have all of his comics, I doubt we would know either." Dani assured him. "He also has really big earlobes."

We all looked at her, and she frowned. "What? We were talking about Grandpa Peter."

"Captain Atomic was wounded in World War 2 by a radioactive bullet, which should have penetrated his heart, but it was stopped by the lucky yoyo given to him by his best gal." Horace explained.

"The bullet turned him radioactive and the army fitted him with an experimental battery that keeps him alive. Him and his yoyo are atomically powered." I continued.

"So are my farts." Kaz pointed out. I looked at him. "No, they are. Ask my brothers."

"Where am I?" Captain Atomic demanded, walking over to us, his hands on his hips. "Five minutes ago I entered a wormhole to stop Professor Slime from enslaving the planet Malmarn."

"Unfortunately, you became trapped in that wormhole for decades." Horace broke the news to him. "And by the way, Malmarn is now called Slimemarn."

Captain Atomic nodded thoughtfully, processing the news.

"So, this is the future?" He asked slowly, looking around in amazement. He glanced at Horace, then did a double-take. "Wait, Horace Diaz, is that you?"

Horace grinned and offered Captain Atomic his hand, shaking it. "You knew him in the fifties? How old are you?" I questioned bluntly.

"A gentleman never asks; a lady never tells." Horace replied. Then, after a brief pause, "3006, in May."

"This place looks so different." Captain Atomic swept past us, his head craning to see as much of the room as he could at once. He stopped when he saw doctors Wendy Lincoln, Janet Dorey, and Lise Lalonde examining a patient. "Who are all these broads dressed as doctors?"

"They're doctors." Dani replied, raising an eyebrow. Much to her annoyance, he laughed at her.

"That is very amusing, Nurse…" He waited for her name. Dani crossed her arms.

"Doctor." She corrected. "Doctor Dani Short."

"A girl doctor! That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!" He bellowed with a smile. "Right, lizard-doctor?"

"It's not a joke, you sexis-" Kaz quickly covered Dani's mouth with his hand, preventing her from starting a fight with the hero. Though his reaction was understandable – women were greatly underrated in his time – Dani had always felt very strongly that women and men should be equal, and would take his views as a personal offense.

"What she means is, times have changed. Women are doctors now." Kaz explained quickly. "I'm Kaz, by the way, and this is Oliver."

"Huh." Captain Atomic hummed before walking over to the doctors.

"Ew!" Kaz exclaimed, pulling his hand away from Dani's mouth very quickly. Judging by the disgusted look on his face, and the wetness on his hand, she must have licked it.

"You do that again, I will bite you." Dani warned, glaring at him. He nodded.

"Kids." Horace pulled us a little farther away from Captain Atomic. "We have to open up another wormhole and get Captain Atomic back to his own time."

He held up the device and hit a button, but nothing happened. Horace frowned and looked at the device. "Huh, this wormhole transporter needs to be repaired. I'll go work on it."

"Right. We'll keep an eye on Captain Atomic." Kaz promised. Horace nodded and began to leave, but stopped after a second.

"Don't tell him how high gas prices are now. It'll kill him!" He warned us before disappearing down a nearby hallway.

"Cool!" I grinned as soon as he was gone. "We get to hang with Captain Atomic!"

"Don't you mean 'Lame-o McCheesy-tights'?" Kaz put his hands on his hips and deepened his voice to mock the radioactive hero. Dani laughed lightly at that, brightening up from her earlier annoyance.

"Are you kidding me, Kaz? Captain Atomic was the Tecton of his time! Look at his comic book!" I quickly searched up a picture of the cover on my phone and showed him the image that popped up. It featured two heroes, one in blue and red and the other in different shades of green, fighting each other. Just above them, the word 'ka-ploof' was written with an exclamation point.

"Ka-ploof?" Dani read. "What even makes that sound…"

She trailed off as two nurses pushed a gurney into the room. Solar Flare lay on top, unconscious. "What happened?" I demanded as Kaz grabbed her chart off the end of the gurney.

"The Black Falcon." Kaz replied, having gotten the information from her paperwork.

"Again?" Dani questioned. "That's, like, the third hero this week alone." She glanced at the chart in Kaz's room, then instructed the nurses on where to bring the injured hero.

"Well, that no-good nick is cruising for a bruising." Captain Atomic declared, having overheard us. "Have no fear, for when evil rears its ugly head, justice always prevails." I beamed up at him, recognizing one of his popular catchphrases. "Now, it's time to make like an atom, and split."

"Dude, seriously?" Kaz questioned, staring at him. Dani nodded.

"Captain Atomic, villains are a lot stronger than they used to be in your day." She began. I quickly stepped in.

"Don't listen to her. You can still mop the floor with any villain out there." I assured him. "Justice has no expiration date."

"Have no fear, young lad!" Captain Atomic announced. "No one can defeat me! Not with my trusted weapon, my atomic yoyo of victory! To the skies!"

We watched as he flew upwards, right into the ceiling. He crashed back down to the ground, pieces of the now broken ceiling hitting the ground beside him. "There used to be a skylight there." He commented.

**Skylar's POV**

Normo shopping centers were strange. Back home, shopping wasn't a big deal – my people weren't naturally very materialistic – but here on Earth, it apparently seemed to be all the rage. And this mall was so massive, it was hard to figure out my way around.

I wished that Dani, Kaz, Oliver or Alivia had come with me, especially the latter two. Dani and Kaz didn't seem like they'd be fans of something like this, but Alivia had comments dozens of times about how much she loved this mall compared to the one in Bray, and Oliver clearly knew his way around town.

"There are way too many stores here." I muttered, looking around for a map or something.

"You look lost." I turned around to see Stephanie standing a few feet away from me, dozens of shopping bags in her hands.

"Uh, yeah." I admitted. She smirked, probably about to make a snarky response, but was quickly cut off by another one of our fellow students.

"Hey Connie! Stephanie!" We turned to see Barry and Gus walking over to us.

"Ah, my two favorite girls who don't pretend to be mannequins when I try to talk to them." Gus smiled pleasantly. Stephanie seemed to like that idea and immediately froze.

"Don't move." She hissed to Barry and I. "Its vision is based on movement."

"Stephanie." Barry said sternly. The girl gave him an annoyed look, but relaxed her tense arms.

"What's up, guys?" I smiled at them.

"I've decided to shoot a movie." Gus announced with a grin. "I was hoping you guys would want to be in it."

Stephanie and I both grinned at the prospect. That would be awesome! "What's it about?"

"We have no idea." Barry admitted. "I just need to do something for my senor project."

"You have no ideas?" I said incredulously. Gus shook his head.

"We're not very creative. That's why we're going into the movie business." Gus explained.

"We should do a movie about my face." Stephanie suggested, pushing me out of the way. "I'd totally go and see that."

"Wait!" A lightbulb went off in my head. "I have a not insane idea! We should make a movie that features a strong female lead character. Someone like…Skylar Storm!"

"The comic book superhero?" Barry questioned. "Dude, no one likes her anymore. Not since she lost her powers in her last comic book. The only person I know that still reads her stuff is Dani's brother."

"Yeah, she lost her powers to the Annihilator." Gus laughed. "He's not even that powerful."

Ticked off, I grabbed Gus by the front of his vest and shoved him into a nearby support column. "Oh yeah? I'd like to see you battle him, punk!" Gus looked at me, a little freaked. I took a deep breath, reminding myself where I was, and released him. "Look, there's never been a Skylar Storm movie and this will prove that she's still cool and still important."

"My little brother likes her comics." Stephanie offered. I smiled.

"See?" I looked at Gus.

"My little brother also likes to dress up our cat as 'Kitty Perry'." She added.

"Maybe Connie's right. Skylar Storm wouldn't be a bad choice as a lead character." Barry said slowly. Gus sighed.

"Fine, we'll make a Skylar Storm movie." He agreed reluctantly. I beamed happily. "And Stephanie, tell your brother he's doing the costumes."

**Oliver's POV**

"Ollie, he's been gone too long." Dani sighed, resting her head on the palm of her hand and looking at me.

"She's right." Kaz agreed. "I hate to say I told you so, but I think we should send someone to go find him."

"Captain Atomic does not need any help." I brushed them off. I'd read all Captain Atomic's comic books during a summer trip to my grandparents and I knew that he was the ultimate hero. Nothing could beat him. "In fact, I bet that any minute, he'll come strolling in her, having defeated the Black Falcon, and heroically say-"

"To the trauma ward!" We turned to see Captain Atomic fall to the floor behind us, a couple of doctors immediately rushing to his aid.

"What?" I demanded, shocked. "This is terrible! Why did I encourage him to go out and fight? He was obviously outmatched!"

"It's not your fault, Ollie." Dani assured me. Kaz nodded.

"Yeah, maybe he just got confused from seeing everything in color for the first time." My best friend offered, trying to help. I looked at him.

"Kaz, the past wasn't in black and white." I informed him.

"You don't know that." Kaz argued.

**Skylar's POV**

Barry had instructed us all to meet at the community center at 1 o'clock for the auditions, so in the time I had, I brought my purchases back to my room at Mighty Med, grabbed my superhero uniform, and headed over to the community center.

I stepped into the room the boys had reserved to discover that Stephanie and I weren't the only ones they'd invited to audition for the movie. The room was full of kids from school. Currently, Barry and Gus were auditioning some kid from my Spanish class.

The guy just stood in front of them whistling, until Gus threw some grapes at him. After a moment, Gus applauded him. "Thank you, Phil, I think you nailed the part of 'Innocent Bystander Hit With Grapes For No Apparent Reason'."

I raised an eyebrow at that. "Who's writing the script?" I muttered before walking over to Gus and Barry, holding up mu uniform for them to see. "Before I do my audition for the role of Skylar Storm, I'd like to point out that I found this costume and coincidently, it fits me perfectly."

Gus took the costume and examined it. "This looks pretty fake." He said, much to my confusion. "But go ahead, Connie. Wow me."

I cleared my throat, then fell into an all-too familiar fighting stance. "There's a storm coming; Skylar Storm!" I then proceeded to show off my fighting skills by kicking the air a few times and doing a backflip off a nearby table.

Many of the kids in the room, including Barry, applauded me. Gus climbed out of his chair, and stood next to me. "Alright people, I have seen enough." I smiled. "The role of Skylar Storm goes to…Stephanie!"

Gus pointed at the blonde haired girl, who was sitting at a nearby desk. "What?" I demanded, shocked. "How could you not pick me for that part? I was born to play Skylar Storm. Literally, in a pod of nutrient solution." That got me a lot of strange and confused looks, so I quickly corrected myself. "I mean, in the maternity ward of a regular hospital."

"Sorry Connie, you're just not the right type." Gus told me apologetically.

"And Stephanie is?" I demanded incredulously.

"She just has that certain…j'ai ne sais quoi." He told me. I frowned.

"What does that even mean?" I questioned.

"I don't know, but she has it!" He exclaimed. Stephanie smiled at that, looking up from her mirror. "Stephanie, show Connie some of that acting j'ai ne sais quoi!"

Stephanie glanced away from her reflection. "Uh, there's, like, a storm coming. Like, Skylar Storm."

"See!" While I was hardly impressed, Gus seemed to love her 'acting' skills. "I don't know what that was!"

"Seriously?" I questioned. My first movie, and he was casting her?

"Don't worry. You'll still have a part in the movie." Gus assured me. "I'm casting you as 'Innocent Bystander Hit With Grapes For No Apparent Reason'."

"Hey!" Phil snapped, offended. Upset, he kicked over Gus' chair and left the room, storming off. Gus raced to the door.

"If you think that's going to get you the part of 'Angry Man Who Kicks Over Chair', you're sadly mistaken!"

**Oliver's POV**

"I don't get it. He's just a little bruised." Kaz mumbled, looking Captain Atomic. The hero was still unconscious, with no sign of recovering from his fight with the Black Falcon. "There's no reason he should still be out."

Suddenly, I remembered something from Captain Atomic's comic books. "I think I know what's wrong. Help me turn him over!" I instructed. Kaz helped me push him onto his side, Dani keeping from rolling in either direction while I examined his atomic battery. "See?"

"Parapluie!" Kaz exclaimed. Dani and I both stared at him.

"Gesundheit?" Dani replied, as confused as I was.

"It's the French word for umbrella." Kaz grinned, proud that he'd remembered the word.

"Kids, what's the problem?" Horace questioned.

"Captain Atomic's atomic battery has corroded." I told him, feeling guilty. "I should have examined him before I let him go and fight."

"Hey, don't worry about that now." Dani told me, walking up to Horace. "We just have to fix this."

"Which means replacing the battery before it kills him." I nodded.

"Exactly." She agreed. She looked at Horace. "You got any replacements?"

"Sure, plenty." Horace replied. "In 1953. That was the last year we manufactured atomic batteries. It turns out that the main component, Iridium 7, had some unpleasant side-effects."

"What kind of side-effects?" Kaz asked.

"Let's just say that Dr. Glowhead wasn't born that way." Said doctor walked over to us, his head giving off a faint white glow. "Hey, I was just talking about you." Horace smiled before signing some papers.

"This is all my fault." I sighed, upset. Then I had an idea. "Wait, Horace. Can you use the wormhole transporter to send us back to 1953 so we can get an atomic battery?"

"What? Are you kidding me? I don't want to get stuck in a wormhole!" Kaz protested.

"I can't send you back. The wormhole transporter isn't done being repaired yet." Even as he said this, Horace pulled the wormhole transporter out of his pocket.

"Good." Kaz sighed in relief. Horace pulled out a tiny screwdriver and tightened a screw.

"There; now it's repaired." He announced.

"Dang it." Kaz muttered.

"But I still can't send you. It's too dangerous." Horace told us.

"Good." Kaz said again.

"But we have to!" I proclaimed. "It's the only way to save Captain Atomic's life!"

"Dang it!" Kaz sighed.

"I don't care how dangerous it is; I'm going." I continued.

"Good." Kaz commented. Dani put her arm around his shoulder.

"And so are we." She announced.

"Dang it." Kaz realized that there was no getting out of this. Before any of us could change our minds, I snatched the wormhole transporter out of Horace's hands, turned it to face us, and pressed the right button.

The world disappeared in a white flash, only to return quickly. But the world we returned to wasn't the same that we'd left. It was close, but small changes in the technology and the layout of the room proved that we weren't in our time period. The gurneys were now just regular metal gurneys without the equipment attached, the counters in the center of the room had been replaced with a couple of small black desks for nurses to work at, and even the pictures of bridges on the walls had been replaced with pictures of historical monuments.

"See Kaz? There's color here too." Dani teased as we looked around.

"We're actually in the 1950s!" I exclaimed, ecstatic. This was so cool! Even Kaz, who hadn't wanted to come at all, seemed to be pretty amazed.

"There's the original Solar Flare before she passed on the torch!" Dani exclaimed, pointed past me at a girl with curly red hair and flames coming from the palms of her hands.

"And there's the Scarlet Cyclone!" I exclaimed, watching as a man walked into a phone booth. A cyclone of red appeared in the booth, and when it stopped, the man was dressed in a red spandex suit. The gust of wind that came from the cyclone was just enough to blow Solar Flare's skirt up, giving Kaz and I a glance underneath.

"Come on." Dani rolled her eyes, physically pushing us away from the pretty girl. 'We need a plan."

"Got it. I'll map one out." Kaz offered, grabbing some items off an empty desk. "Oliver, this pill bottle will be you, this tongue depressor will be me, and this atomic battery will be Dani."

He placed the three items next to each other. I grabbed the atomic battery, much to his displeasure. "Dude, now we don't know where Dani is!"

"This is the battery!" I exclaimed. He looked at it, understanding washing over his face. "Now, let's go. We need to get back. If Captain Atomic dies, I'll never forgive yourself."

I was about to press the button that would take us home when it was suddenly stolen from my hands by a glowing object. Captain Atomic stood a few feet away from us, holding both the wormhole transporter and his atomic yoyo. "Stop right there, intruders!"

"Wait! I can explain!" I protested, but he didn't listen, instead using his weaponized yoyo to tie Kaz, Dani, and I together.

"Okay, I gotta admit, I kinda want a yoyo now." Kaz joked, much to my annoyance.

"I saw you steal that atomic battery," Captain Atomic accused, "but your plan is foiled, you foreign spies."

'We're not spies or foreigners!" Dani protested. Kaz nodded.

"We're as American as can be!" He agreed. "I'll say the pledge of allegiance right now."

'Let's hear it." Captain Atomic tested him. Kaz hesitated.

"I don't actually know it." He admitted. I sighed. Of course he didn't. "But if one of my friends said it, I could mouth along."

I sighed. "I swear to you, we're not traitors." I told him. Kaz repeated what I said, much to my annoyance. "I'm not saying the pledge of allegiance!"

"Stop shouting!" Dani snapped, clearly not liking how she was stuck in the middle of us. She sent me a glare, then looked at Captain Atomic pleadingly. "Please, we're here to help you."

"We came from the future to save your life." I insisted.

"Lies!" Captain Atomic bellowed, to my surprise. "You can explain yourself to the hospital's tough talking, non-nonsense chief of staff!"

At that moment, conga music filled the air and a conga line came dancing into the room. At the front of the line was the one and only Horace Diaz, dressed in a suit.

"Horace?" I questioned. "Is that you?"

"Do you, like, never age?" Dani questioned incredulously, looking him and up and down.

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Horace replied. "But it will get you a free play on the jukebox." He flipped a quarter at Dani. "Just don't pick B-17. It reminds me of…her."

Captain Atomic finally released us, pulling his yoyo back to himself. "I caught these three trying to steal an atomic battery. I assume the brown haired beatnik with bangs in his eyes is the mastermind. There's no way this tall dolly-"

"What did you call me?" Dani frowned.

"-or this young man with his perfect hair and simple brain-"

"Hey!" Kaz protested.

"-could have plotted to break in here." He paused. "Excuse me a second."

He whipped his yoyo into the air, knocking a supervillain dressed in black to the ground.

"That's the villain Ratscare!" I exclaimed.

"Well done!" Horace congratulated Captain Atomic before turning to the two guards that had arrive to deal with the criminal. "Now, read him his rights, give him a fair trial…just joking. Pull his arms off!"

"Now explain yourselves, intruders, or you'll meet the same fate." Horace turned on us.

"Horace, you have to listen to us." I pleaded with him. "We work for you in the future. We're the only Normos on staff."

"I would never hire Normos, and there's nothing I hate more than intruders." Horace snapped. "And I hate to hate things, but I love to love things."

"Yes, we know!" Dani agreed quickly. "You love bridges."

That seemed to stump Horace. "Bridges?" He repeated, thinking it over. "Sturdy, functional, stylish…not a bad idea. I LOVE BRIDGES! I like the sound of that. But you three will still need to be de-armed."

"No! I love my arms!" Kaz protested as a group of guards teleported in front of us. "If I didn't have arms, I couldn't do this!"

Kaz began making all these gestures with his arms as the guards stared at him.

"Or this!" I added, reaching around Kaz and my sister. I grabbed the wormhole teleporter out of Captain Atomic's hands before he could stop me and hit the button, enveloping us in a wormhole.

**Skylar's POV**

While Gus was setting up the scene for Stephanie in the middle of the courtyard we were going to film, I was hanging on the steps, waiting for my scene. "Hey," Barry greeted, sitting down next to me. He offered me a bottle. "Water?"

"No thanks." I replied, shaking my head. I watched as Gus fiddled with some of the cameras. "Okay, why is Gus running this thing?"

"He really wanted to direct a movie, and since I was already planning on doing one for my senior project, so I figured, let Gus direct, and I'll take care of the finishing touches. Works for both of us." He shrugged. "But honestly, I wouldn't have chosen Stephanie for the lead."

"Good idea." I agreed. He nodded.

"So…" He trailed off. "How are things?"

"Uh…good?" I replied. He nodded, then glanced down at the water bottle.

"How's Dani?" He asked after a moment. I raised an eyebrow at that, remembering their break-up.

"No offense, Barry, but I don't think that's your business anymore." I said coolly. He glanced at me.

"I suppose you're right." He agreed. "I just…I didn't want to hurt her, you know? Things just weren't working out."

"She's fine." I assured him. He nodded.

"Good." He nodded again, just as Gus appeared to be finishing up with his adjustments to the setup. "Shall we?"

I pushed myself off the steps and walked towards the center of the courtyard, Barry following behind. Stephanie was looking around at the setup, clad in my uniform, much to my annoyance.

"Alright, this is scene 2A, where Skylar is attacked by a band of alien assassins." Gus announced, ushering everyone who wasn't Stephanie behind the tripod holding his phone. "And…action!"

Four kids in black and white costume with Martian masks on ran out from behind some bushes. "Oh no, it's like four against one." Not only did her lines seem unbelievable, but she also kept looking directly at the camera. "What am I going to, like, do?"

"Stop it!" I interrupted the scene, stepping in front of the camera. "You are ruining Skylar Storm's legacy! She would never fight in high heels."

"She's not fighting. She's waiting to be rescued by my character, the Guslander." Gus replied, putting his fists on his hips.

I looked at him, then at his tripod. "Can I see this for a second?" I asked, gesturing at it. He nodded. I adjusted the camera for a second, then took the whole tripod and threw it onto the ground several feet away.

Gus looked at me. "Hey! If you're auditioning for the part of 'Girl Who Throws Tripod', you got it. We're shooting that scene next."

**Oliver's POV**

"You're back!" Horace exclaimed as we stepped out of the wormhole, safely returned to our time. "Did you get the battery?"

"Yes!" I pulled the battery out of my pocket and handed it to him.

"Now let's put it in Captain Atomic before it's too late." He decided, rushing over to Captain Atomic. He pulled the back of the hero's shirt up, revealing where the corroded battery was. He pulled out the old battery and replaced it with the new one. Almost immediately, Captain Atomic woke up, confused.

"I just had this terrible dream where women were doctors and men didn't wear hats." He exclaimed. He looked around at the women doctors working with patients and the hatless men, a disappointed look coming over his face. "Oh, it was real."

"Yes, it was." Dani agreed, still annoyed with him. Suddenly the monitor behind us turned on, the channel set on SNN. "What's going on?"

Horace ran over to the monitor, reading the information on the screen. "Black Falcon has taken out all the other superheroes in the city. Captain Atomic's the only one left."

Kaz turned to the blonde haired hero. "You have to go do something." He told him.

"Like what?" Captain Atomic sighed. "You were right about me; I can't right these modern villains."

"No, I was wrong." Kaz told him. "We just saw you in the past, and you kicked butt."

"The way you took that villain out…it was easy for you." Dani agreed. "I may not like how you talk to girls, but even I have to admit that you've got skills, especially with that yoyo."

"Captain Atomic, you can do it." I encouraged him. "The only reason Black Falcon was able to defeat you was because your battery was corroded. You weren't on you're A game. But now you're at full strength."

"Once a hero, always a hero." Kaz added. "No matter how lame-o your McCheesy-tights are."

"Maybe I do still have what it takes." Captain Atomic considered it. "So, to the skies."

Thankfully, he didn't try and fly through our ceiling this time. "But first, where's the little hero's room? Technically, I haven't gone in sixty years."

"Down that hall, the third door on your right." I replied, gesturing. He nodded.

"Thanks." He started in that direction. "To the restroom!"

**Skylar's POV**

"And cut!" Gus shouted. I watched, shaking my head, as two guys carefully cut a large sub into small pieces. "I'm also good at directing snack time."

I sighed and turned to Stephanie as everyone else walked away in the direction of the snack tables. "Hey, I have a few tips for portraying Skylar Storm as the amazing hero she is. For one thing, she doesn't use the word 'like' as much."

"I don't, like, say 'like', like, a lot." She denied it. I stared at her.

"Do you, like, hear yourself?" Then I realized what I'd said. "Great, now I'm, like, doing it."

Suddenly, something hit me from behind, knocking me to the ground. I rolled over, confused, just to see the villain Black Falcon standing over me, gripping Stephanie's arm tightly. I'd never fought him myself, but he was exactly as I expected – tall, dressed completely in black, and carrying a gold three-point spear in one hand.

"Next on my hit list; Skylar Storm!" He sneered. Stephanie looked at him, completely unafraid.

"Ew. Somebody, like, needs a manicure." She wrinkled her nose in disgust, pulling her arm away from him. The Black Falcon didn't reply, instead using the power in his glove to render her unconscious. He caught her before she could hit the ground, holding his spear just above her head.

"First, you lose your powers," He sneered, oblivious to the fact that I was getting to my feet, "And now, you lose your life."

I lunged at him, landing a strong kick straight to his chest. It managed to knock him back, giving me the chance to lower Stephanie safely to the ground. "Hey, Black Falcon!" I called, getting into a fighting stance. "Why don't you pick on the real Skylar Storm, not some cheap knockoff?"

I spun around, adding power to my punch as I tried to hit him. When he dodged that, I leapt onto one foot, kicking my other one up at his stomach. He blocked it and swung his spear at me. I managed to dodge it by cartwheeling away from him, giving me the chance to ready my next attack.

He swung his spear at me again. This time I leapt over it, aiming a kick to his head. I didn't manage to land the blow, though, as he spun around and knocked me to the ground with the thicker end of his spear. He didn't give me a chance to recover, and stood above me, ready to strike.

But then, all of a sudden, the spear flew out of his hands. We both looked, surprised, and saw a tall, blonde haired superhero in a blue and red uniform standing close by, the spear lying discarded at his feet.

"Hey bird brain." He smirked, playing with a golden yoyo. "I don't mean to ruffle your feathers, but it's time to cock-a-doodle-do you in."

"Dude, seriously?" The Black Falcon read my mind. The hero didn't seem to care, instead taking on the Black Falcon himself. I relaxed a little, exhausted, hurt, and knowing that I wasn't a match for the Black Falcon without my powers.

"Skylar!" I looked up to see Oliver skid over to me, trying to keep low as he watched the hero and Black Falcon trade blows. I could see Dani and Kaz on the other side of the courtyard, watching from behind a garbage can. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I muttered, not wanting to admit the truth. I couldn't even beat the Black Falcon! I used to take on villains every day, and now I couldn't even hold my own against one! "Who is that?"

"Captain Atomic." He replied. I looked at him, confused. "Long story."

Assuming that he would tell me later, I turned my attention back to the fight. Black Falcon was shooting wave after wave of dark energy at Captain Atomic, but his shield, somehow created from spinning that yoyo around in circles, deflected it every time. It was only when Black Falcon used his spear to attack did the shield finally crack. Captain Atomic hit the ground hard, but slowly got up, kneeling on one knee and breathing heavy.

The Black Falcon held his spear high, then went to slam it downwards, intending to shoot out one last wave of dark energy that would surely end the fight, but Captain Atomic was too quick. He threw his yoyo to the ground as hard as he could, the impact of the clever device causing the area around him to suddenly become an anti-gravity zone.

"Cool." I heard Oliver whisper in awe. I had to admit, he was right. This was cool.

Captain Atomic retracted his yoyo, the anti-gravity effects disappearing. Black Falcon hit the ground roughly as Captain Atomic stood to his full height. Black Falcon glared at him.

"This isn't over, Captain Atomic!" He growled. "So watch your back."

With that, the villain flew into the air. "Here." Oliver offered me his hand and after a moment, I took it.

"Thanks." I rubbed my back with a grimace, almost certain that he bruised my backbone. That was going to hurt for a couple of days.

"See? You are still amazing." Kaz was saying to Captain Atomic as we walked over to the three of them.

"Wait, aren't you going to go after him?" Dani questioned, frowning. I glanced up at the sky, then smirked.

"No need." I replied for him. Before anyone could question what I meant, we heard helicopter blades and a scream, and black feathers began to fall around us.

"I don't think we're going to be hearing from him for a while." Captain Atomic decided. He looked at me. "Nice moves kid."

"Thanks. For the compliment and for saving me." I replied, shaking his hand.

"Well, I can see a damsel in distress over a mile away." He replied proudly. "Seriously, I can see over a mile away."

I shook my head, amused.

"We should probably get you back to your own time now, huh?" Oliver commented. That confused me a bit, but I didn't comment on it, knowing that Oliver would fill me in later.

"Actually, I think I'll stay here." Captain Atomic replied thoughtfully.

"Really?" Kaz asked. Captain Atomic nodded.

"Like equal rights and opportunities for everyone, regardless of race or gender." Dani added with a smile. Captain Atomic didn't argue with it, but it clearly wasn't his favorite thing about the future either.

"Yeah, that. But I was talking about flat screen TVs." He told her. "And seedless watermelon. The future is amazing!"

"Okay. Explain, later." I told Oliver. He nodded. "I'm going to check on Stephanie, make sure she's alright."

"Alright. Catch you later." He replied, smiling. I waved goodbye to Kaz and Dani before walking over to where Stephanie was just starting to wake up.

"What happened?" She questioned as I helped her to her feet. "Did I faint from too much hairspray again?"

"Hey." Gus walked over to us. "I don't know who those extras in the costumes were, but they totally ruined my movie. Look what you did to my masterpiece!"

He showed us the footage. I'd been expecting to see the entire fight scene, but instead, it was just a video of Gus directing the movie. "The camera was turned the wrong way, so you didn't record any of the movie? Just your face?" I didn't believe it.

"Don't worry. I'll just convert it to 3D." Gus assured me. "People will see any piece of garbage if it's in 3D."


	11. Growing Pains

**Kaz's POV**

"So your trip to California was a bust?" Oliver said sympathetically as he, Dani, Alivia, and I walked down the street. The red-head had recently returned from a trip with her father, one that they'd hoped would result in three new superheroes.

"Mostly, yeah." Alivia sighed. "The video made them look cool and stuff, but they were basically just a bunch of teenagers with electromechanical implants."

"But you said the pretty one could give the Flash a run for his money." I frowned. "Literally."

"Super-powered people have four classifications: people born with abilities, like Jaime and I; people who've been bestowed powers, like the Key Keeper; people not born on Earth, like Skylar; and people who use weapons to help others, like Batman. Using implants, even ones as advanced as those, don't count." The Irish girl shrugged. "But it wasn't a total waste. I did get to go sight-seeing while we were spying on them."

"Stalker." Dani accused teasingly as I pushed open the door to the Domain.

"I am not a stalker!" Alivia protested, but I was no longer interested in that conversation.

"Dudes!" I grinned, eyeing a large stand featuring the newest traumatic video game on the market. "Unbridled Mayhem. The video game so disturbing, it comes with a nightlight."

"That's perfect!" Dani beamed. "Ollie, weren't you just telling me at breakfast about how you needed a new one?"

"My old one is so baby-ish." He agreed.

"We have to have this." I decided, reaching for the video game, only to have my hand slapped away by a middle-aged man with slick brown hair and a moustache.

"Not so fast, punk." He told me, looking at us sternly.  
"Who're you?" I demanded, confused.

"The name is Bryan, with a Y. And an A and a N and a R and a B. But not in that order." We all exchanged looks. "Wallace and Clyde left me in charge while they're at they identical twin comic book store owners convention, and I'm not going to sell you this game. It's too intense and you're not mature enough to play it."

"I got this." Oliver pushed past us. He put his hand on Bryan's shoulder. 'Bryan, my good man. It just so happens that my associates and I are exceptionally mature, so mature that we pronounce mature 'mature'." He said smoothly, emphasizing the 't' sound in mature.

I chuckled. "Hey, if you replace the 't' in 'mature' with an 'n', you get 'manure'." I laughed, amused. "That's cow poop."

Dani's lips twitched up a bit, almost turning into a smile, even as Alivia sighed. "Well, we just lost all credibility." She commented dryly.

"You can not have this game, period." Bryan snapped. Dani raised an eyebrow.

"That seems like more an exclamation mark than a period." She retorted. Bryan glared at her.

"You listen here, colon: no game for you! Exclamation point!" He began ripping the games off the shelf. "You got that, question mark?"

And with that, he stormed off towards the back of the store. "What a jerk." Dani grumbled.

"Well, maybe it's just as well." Alivia reasoned. 'If you guys bought the game, you'd be playing it all weekend instead of finishing our biology labs."

I stopped, confused. "Biology labs?"

"Yeah, the ones that are due Monday?" Oliver added. I frowned, totally confused as to what they were talking about.

"Dee? Help me out?" I said hopefully.

"We were given caterpillar larva and we were supposed to photograph and chart their development into butterflies." She explained. "Remember? I spent three whole days trying to convince Liv to let me keep mine at her house because Katy kept trying to get into their cage?"

I shook my head. "I must have been absent when they assigned that project."

"No, you were there. You got them, like, a month ago." Oliver assured me. "I remember you laughed because the word 'butterfly' has the word 'butt' in it."

I laughed at that. "So many words do! Butter, buttermilk, butts." Apparently, I was the only one who found that funny. "And anyway, I don't remember being given any caterpillar larva."

I unzipped my backpack, intending to grab my phone out of it, only for a dozen butterflies to come fluttering out. We all stared at them, surprised.

"Oh, now I remember!" I exclaimed, watching them fly away. "I put them in my backpack."

"Figures." Alivia sighed, shaking her head at me.

**Xxx**

"I'll catch up with you guys later." Alivia told us as walked through the doors of Mighty Med, adjusting her bag's straps. "I'm gonna go change into my uniform and see what Skylar is up to."

"See ya." Dani replied as Alivia headed off to the nearest bathroom.

"Kids!" Horace called to us, standing above one of the gurneys. As we walked over, I could see a small, doll-like figure on the end of the bed. "I need your help. I'm performing a ground-breaking procedure."

We looked at his 'patient'. "Why are you operating on a doll?" Dani questioned, frowning.

"If you're trying to replace the batteries, you're using the wrong tool." Oliver advised. "You need a teeny-tiny philips head."

Horace stared at him. "Don't make fun of Philip's head!" He scolded. "He's very self-conscious about it. It's not nearly as big as he wishes it were." He cleared his throat as the tallest nurse in the hospital walked over to us. Philip was practically a giant, and his head was twice the size of any Normo's. "Hey Philip. Head's looking huge."

"You're just saying that." Philip accused grumpily before taking away the metal tray from under the doll. Horace laid the doll gently on the pillow, giving us all a better look at it.

"Hey, isn't that Brain Matter?" I questioned, recognizing the doll.

"If he defrosts, he'll turn into a rampaging beast!" Oliver exclaimed. Horace smiled.

"I think I can cure him with this experimental serum." The man explained. "But first, I need you to step back."

"For safety?" Dani guessed.

"No. One of you has been eating salami." He explained. Dani gave us both pointed looks, even as I pointed at Oliver.

We stepped back a couple of steps, allowing Horace to resume his experiment. He carefully injected the Brain Matter doll with the serum and quickly stepped back. Almost immediately, the doll grew into a real-life, full-sized man. Brain Matter sat up, absolutely baffled. "Where am I?" He demanded, pushing his goggles away from his face. "What happened to me? And who's been eating salami?"

"He has." Oliver and I accused each other at the same time, while Dani helped Brain Matter off the bed.

"Brain Matter, it's me, Dr. Horace Diaz." Horace reminded him. "I've injected you with a serum that should have given you all the powers you tried to create for yourself, but without the side-effects."

Brain Matter looked at him in utter astonishment. "That's incredible." He proclaimed, his voice full of awe. Horace smiled.

"Let's test those super powers, staring with super vision." He suggested. "How many fingers is the man on the corner of Walnut and Fourth holding up?"

Brain Matter looked into the distance, focused on something none of us could see. "Three." He said after a moment. Horace nodded.

"I'm just going to have to trust you; I don't have super vision." He replied. "Next, use your telekinesis to move that flower pot!"

Brain Matter looked at the flower pot in question. It was just a pot of dirt and a couple of seeds, the plant yet to have sprouted. Brain Matter extended his hand towards the pot, a look of concentration written on his face.

But instead of the pot beginning to hover, an orange tree grew from the dirt.

"Whoa." Dani laughed lightly in amazement. Brain Matter looked at Horace questioningly, unsure of why that had just happened.

"So…nothing." Horace decided before walking away.

"The serum must have altered some of his powers." Oliver guessed.

"Now you can make things age and grow." Dani told Brain Matter, who was looking at the orange tree with interest.

"It's incredible. Do you realize what you can do with a power like that?" I asked the superhero, an idea already forming in my head.

"End world hunger? Restore the Amazon Rain Forest?" Brain Matter guessed. I scoffed.

"No, something that affects me." It should have been obvious. "Could you help me with my biology lab? I bet you can age caterpillar eggs into butterflies in thirty seconds instead of thirty days."

"Not now." Brain Matter told me, staring into the nearby wall. Apparently, he was seeing something we couldn't. "I'm watching a movie in a theatre, in Omaha." He suddenly cursed. "Ugh! I always get stuck behind a guy with a giant head."

"No one ever complains about my head being too big!" I heard Philip's bitter retort come from behind us.

**Alan's POV**

I looked around uncertainly, hoping that my uncle would not be anywhere in earshot. I really needed to talk to somebody about this, but I wasn't sure who I could trust with this kind of thing.

Then I spotted Skylar and Geminus sitting in the cafeteria, chatting. They both seemed mildly trust-worthy, and Geminus did act nicer to me than most of the people in the hospital…Maybe I could talk to them.

"Uh, Skylar? Geminus?" I approached them. "Could I talk to you guys about something personal?"

"No." Skylar responded almost immediately. Geminus gave her a pointed look. I had the feeling that if Geminus would listen, then she would make Skylar listen too, so I continued.

"Thanks." I smiled at them. "I was hoping you guys could help me with something. It's kinda hard to say this, but, my body is starting to undergo some…" I tried to think of the right word, "…changes."

"Uh…" Geminus had a slightly awkward look on her face, but Skylar was suddenly interested in the conversation.

"Well that can only be good news!" She exclaimed. "What kind of changes?"

"Well…" I hadn't expected her to ask for details. "Sometimes when I get suddenly frightened, I…" I broke off, unable to say it. "No, I can't tell you. It's too embarrassing."

Skylar and Geminus exchanged looks. "It's alright, Alan. You don't need to tell us." Geminus assured me. "After all, we can just-"

"BOO!" Skylar suddenly screamed, making me jump in shock and fear. Antlers suddenly sprouted out of my head.

Both girls stared at them, eyes wide in bemusement.

"See? Look at this! What should I do?" I demanded before any of them could laugh.

"Pull Santa's sleigh." Geminus giggled, unable to help herself. Skylar had one hand over her mouth, trying not to laugh in my face.

"C'mon." I pleaded with them.

"Why don't you just tell Horace about it?" Skylar asked. "I mean, he is your Uncle."

"Are you crazy?" I stared at her incredulously. "I don't feel comfortable talking to him about anything like this!" I looked at them, both of them, and sighed. "Please? You're both incredible heroes who have dedicated themselves to helping people. Can't you help me?"

Both girls looked touched by what I said, Skylar most of all. "You really think I'm still a hero?" She asked. I scoffed at the very thought.

"No." I retorted. "I was just saying that to trick you into doing what I want."

Geminus crossed her arms, lying them on the cafeteria table. "And how's that working out for you?" She questioned in a falsely-pleasant tone.

"You are really bad at asking for help." Skylar told me. "But fine, we'll help you."

"We will?" Geminus cocked her head to the side, frowning. Skylar nodded.

"Yes, we will." She decided.

"Thank you." I sighed in relief. "But please, promise me you won't say anything to my Uncle Horace. He wouldn't understand, and," I gulped nervously, "he's an avid hunter."

**Kaz's POV**

It took a lot of convincing, but eventually, I managed to break Brain Matter down into agreeing to help me with my homework assignment.

I was waiting with him in the rec room when the doors swung open, Dani and Oliver walking in.

"Hey Owlgirl." Oliver smiled upon seeing the other hero in the room. The bird-themed superhero was standing next to a bird cage, her workout bag sitting on the couch. "I heard you were with Heritos, the superhero Owl of Truth. You know who told me? A little birdie." Oliver laughed at that joke, but it was way too overplayed to make even Owlgirl crack a smile. "Actually, it was Solar Flare; she's kinda a gossip."

"Hey, here's the larva." Dani told me, handing me the package she'd manage to procure from the science lab. Hopefully, no one would notice they were gone.

"Thank you." I smiled at her, then turned to face Brain Matter. "Brain Matter, I really appreciate you helping me with my biology lab. I would also appreciate you not whining about it."

"I've been shrunk down and frozen for years. Aging caterpillars into butterflies wasn't the first thing on my wish list of things to." He retorted.

"What was the first thing you wanted to do?" Oliver questioned, genuinely curious.

"Return this movie I rented to my local video store." He held up a VHS video tape. 'I'm sure they're still around, right?"

"Well, considering the late fees you're bound to have, I'd hope for your sake that they're not." Dani replied, shrugging. Suddenly, her phone vibrated. "Crap." She muttered, rolling her eyes before answering the phone. "Hello Mother."

She walked away with the phone, an annoyed look on her face.

I shrugged and laid the caterpillars out on a metal table in front of him, then pulled my phone out of my pocket so I could video tape this.

"Here are the caterpillars." I announced, grinning. "Let's make some butterflies."

I aimed my camera at the caterpillars and hit record, just as Brain Matter raised his hand towards them, focusing. Oliver stood on the other side of the table.

However, instead of the caterpillars beginning to turn into butterflies, then rolled into small balls, shrinking, and turned into eggs.

"Something's wrong with your power." Oliver hummed, frowning. "Instead of making the caterpillars older, you made them younger. They're eggs now!"

"No!" I protested. "I have to turn in this report, and I can't get anything lower than a C. Or a D that I can turn into a B just by putting a little line through it."

"Uh, guys?" We turned to see that Dani had walked back into the room. "What happened to Heritos?"

Apparently, the caterpillars weren't the only ones who'd gotten a lot younger. The owl had been replaced an egg. "Heritos is an egg now! What are we going to do?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm getting the heck out of here!" Brain Matter exclaimed, making a run for the door. We all exchanged looks.

"What are we supposed to tell Owlgirl?" Oliver wondered.

"I vote nothing." I offered.

"I second the motion." Dani agreed. Oliver nodded.

"Agreed." He grabbed a towel off a nearby rack and carefully place it over Heritos' cage. "Sorry, Egg of Truth. Huh. Feels ironic to have to lie about this."

"Uh, Mom wants us home for dinner." Dani told Oliver.

"But wait, what about my biology lab?" I protested. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Just come by tomorrow, and we'll help you figure something out." Oliver promised. I sighed.

"Fine," I reluctantly agreed.

**Xxx**

"Oliver! Dani!" I called, banging on their front door. "Let me in!"

"Wow, you're up early." Dani's voice came from behind me. I turned to see her wearing a red tank-top and a pair of sweat pants. "Seriously, I've never seen you up before ten before, let alone at 7:30."

"I'm desperate. I'm barely passing the class as it is." I admitted. Dani nodded.

"Same here." She agreed, pulling a pair of keys out of her pockets. "C'mon in."

She unlocked the door and led me into the kitchen, tossing the keys onto the counter. "Ollie! Get out of bed; Kaz is here!"

"Water's in the fridge, right?" I guessed, already heading for the refrigerator. I grabbed a bottle for myself, then one for her. "Have a nice run?" I asked, tossing it to her.

"Yeah. I ran into Barry, chatted a bit." She replied. She turned around to look at the stairs. "Ollie!"

"Isn't he usually up by the time you get back from your morning runs?" I asked. She nodded.

"Most of the time, yeah." She replied, frowning. "Maybe he's not feeling well?"

"I'll go check on him." I offered, jogging up the stairs two at a time. I didn't even knock before entering my best friend's bedroom.

As expected, the lights were still off, his shoes were still by the door, and Oliver was still in bed, his entire body covered by a mound of blue striped blankets.

"Oliver, wake up!" I exclaimed. "How could you oversleep? That's my thing. Get up. We have to try and fix Brain Matter so he can help me with my biology lab."

A loud, whining groan came from beneath the slowly moving blankets. I chuckled at the sight. 'C'mon. Wakey-wakey, eggs and-" I ripped the blankets off to reveal a very, very young child with messy brown hair. "-ahh. What the bakey?"

"Is he up?" Dani poked her head in. She frowned, stepping into the room completely when she saw the child. "Kaz, tell me you did not kidnap a small child."

"Could you keep it down?" The child request, not opening his eyes. "I was sleeping like a baby. Come back in, like, ten years."

"Is that-" Dani stared at him. "He looks just like Oliver did when we were that young."

"I think it is him." I agreed before grabbing mini-Oliver from under his arms and lifting him out of the bed. I carried him over to his bedroom mirror, the kid struggling and kicking the whole time.

"Put me down!" Mini-Oliver demanded. The moment he saw his reflection, he froze. "AH! I look like I'm five years old!" He exclaimed.

"Ollie?" Dani said softly. The child looked up at his sister. "I think you are five years old."

"When Brain Matter reversed the ages of the caterpillars and Heritos, you must have been standing in the way of his powers." I realized. "And your body regressed ten years!"

"Why didn't my brain? And why didn't it happen as soon as I got zapped? And why did my clothes also shrink?" Mini-Oliver questioned.

"How should we know?" I demanded. "I'm terrible at science. Man, I didn't even do my biology lab!"

"What am I going to do?" Mini-Oliver asked.

"What are you going to do?" Dani repeated. "How the hell am I supposed to explain this to Mom?"

"Well you can't go to school like this." I gestured at him. "So, could I have your biology lab?"

**Xxx**

So, after a small debate, we decided that we should go back to Mighty Med and see if Brain Matter could undo what he did. Of course, that meant walking six blocks with a five year old. Not as much fun as it sounds.

Eventually, we walked into Mighty Med, Oliver clutching both my and Dani's hands.

"Why are you holding our hands?" I demanded.

"I don't know. Instincts." He shrugged, looking up at me with big, five-year old eyes.

"Well, stop it." I told him, pulling my hand away. "It's weird!"

"This whole thing is weird!" Dani exclaimed.

"Look, let's just find Brain Matter without Horace finding out, alright?" I looked at them both. Dani nodded, but Oliver shook his head.

"Too late." He told us, pointing past us. We turned to see Alivia, and Horace walking towards us.

"Aw, who is this cutie-patootie?" Horace cooed, while Alivia gave us a questioning look.

"Uh, he's my little brother." I lied.

"Well, he's a sweetie-pie." Horace smile gently at Oliver. "Guards, have this adorable little boy taken away and cubed!"

"Wait, no!" Dani protested. Oliver pushed past her.

"Wait, it's me, Oliver!" He exclaimed, once again taking me and his sister's hands.

"Kaz, Dani, what have you done?" Horace demanded.

"Why does everyone always blame us?" Dani retorted, staring at them.

"Because we know you." Alivia responded.

"That is mean." Dani accused. I sighed.

"Brain Matter accidently exposed Oliver to the age reversal process and now he's a very clingy five year old." I shook my hand out of his, but Oliver didn't seem to care, still holding onto his sister's hand.

"Amazing." Horace exclaimed.

"No, not amazing." Dani retorted. "Now can we get Brain Matter to fix him before dinner? 'Cause my mom and I don't get along on the best of days, imagine how things will be if I bring home a four year old."

"Five." Oliver corrected.

"Not the point, Ollie!" She snapped, glaring down at her brother.

"Well, I fined tuned Brain Matter's powers, so he could reverse you back to your normal age, if that's what you want."

"Yes, please!" I begged him. "They're impossible to reason with at this age!"

"Brain Matter should be in the rec room." Horace said. Dani nodded.

"I'll go get him." She offered, releasing Oliver's hand and heading in the direction of the rec room.

"Why didn't you guys come earlier?" Alivia frowned as Horace went to speak with a nearby nurse.

"We tried! It took us forever to get here!" I proclaimed. "He wanted to stop and pet every doggy he saw!"

"So did Dani!" Oliver protested.

"Yeah, but when she does it, it's cute." I retorted. Alivia perked up at that.

"It is?" She questioned, suspiciously. I shrugged.

"Girls and puppies are cute together." I replied. She nodded, a tiny smirk on her face.

"Okay." She agreed, shrugging. She glanced over at Horace, who was just finishing with the nurse, a frown on her face.

"Something wrong?" I asked. She sighed.

"Alan and Horace…there's something they need to talk to each about, but because they're too cowardly to do so, they keep coming to me and Skylar. And we don't want to be involved." She explained. "I'm just trying to figure out how to get them to talk."

"Have you tried locking them in a room together? Just lie and say there's some emergency, then don't let either of them out until they've talked." I suggested. She considered it.

"That's not a bad idea, Kaz. Thanks." She sent me a quick smile as Horace walked back over to us. We only had to wait another minute or so before Dani and Brain Matter came walking into the room.

"Oliver?" Brain Matter checked, looking at the younger version of my best friend. Oliver nodded. "Amazing."

"We covered this; it's not amazing." Dani told him. "Now fix him."

"Okay." Brain Matter motioned for us all to get out of the way except for Oliver. "Hold still."

He held his hand out, focusing on Oliver. My best friend started to grow and age, but after a moment, I could tell something was up. Oliver had always been the shortest of us all (he was 5'4, I was almost 5'6, and Dani was somewhere in between), so how come he continued growing past even Horace's height? When Brain Matter was finished, Oliver was at least 6 feet tall, his body was built a fair bit stronger, and his hair had begun to recede. He looked like a middle-ages man.

"Uh-oh." Brain Matter grimaced. Oliver frowned.

"What just happened?" He questioned.

"It seems we went a teeny bit past fifteen." Horace admitted.

"A teeny bit?" Oliver repeated. He looked at Dani, Alivia, and I. "How do I look?"

"A bit like Dad, actually." Dani admitted as Alivia grabbed a metal tray off the counter and handed it to him. He stared at his reflection, horrified.

"I'm in my thirties?" He realized. "That's, like, almost DEAD!"

"I guess we'll have to do some more tests on Brain Matter." Horace decided.

"What about me? What am I supposed to do in the meantime?" Oliver demanded.

"Start saving for retirement?" Alivia offered, trying to be helpful. Suddenly, I knew what we were going to do.

"I have an idea." I announced.

**Xxx**

Fifteen minutes later, we were standing in front of Brian at the cash register in the Domain. "My brother would like to purchase this video game." Dani announced clearly, placing the Unbridled Mayhem disk case on the counter while Brian stared at us suspiciously. Technically, she wasn't lying, as Oliver was her brother. But his older appearance would force Brian to give us the game.

**Alan's POV**

"Alan! Alan!" I had just wandering the halls of Mighty Med, minding my own business, when I heard Geminus calling my name. "I need you to go the rec room right away."

I frowned. "Why? Can it wait? I'm very busy right now, not being in the rec room."

"But it's urgent! There's a leak in there!" Geminus exclaimed.

"So call the janitor." I told her, wondering why she would be bothering me with something so mundane.

"I can't because…it's the janitor who's leaking!" I looked at her, both disgusted and confused. "Bodily fluids," she clarified, "everywhere! And you're the only one who can save him."

"Wow." It wasn't often that anyone in this hospital believed I could do anything. She began dragging me along, all the way to the rec room. "Finally! Everyone will know that Alan Diaz is heroic and brave and-AH!" I screamed, finally seeing the janitor. She wasn't kidding about the janitor; he really was leaking sweat and tears and something else liquidy all over the floor.

Suddenly, painful stabs of pair flooded my system as porcupine quills appeared on and in my skin.

Geminus stared at me, eyes wide. "Wow…that looks painful." She commented. I nodded, then immediately regretted moving.

"Yes, and these are just the needles you can see." I told her. She stepped closer to me, her hands hovering above me as if she wanted to help, but wasn't sure how to do so without hurting me anymore.

"Should I get Horace?" She asked.

"No!" I snapped quickly. I knew my uncle was getting suspicious about how I'd been acting; he'd been avoiding me lately, and talking to Skylar and Geminus behind my back. And even though they reassured me that they hadn't said anything, I still wasn't ready to say anything myself. "No, Geminus, I don't want you to get him."

"…Alright." The red-headed hero replied reluctantly.

**Kaz's POV**

I grinned as Oliver, Dani, and I finished the first level of Unbridled Mayhem. "Man, I love having a thirty-year old best friend!" I grinned. "You're old enough to rent an industrial vacuum. And you can drive us anywhere, like to the industrial vacuum rental store."

"Why would we need an industrial vacuum?" Dani inquired, confused.

"To vacuum things industrially." I replied, thinking it was obvious.

"Kaz, Brain Matter's powers made me fifteen years older, but it didn't magically give me a car."

"You're thirty years old and you don't have your own car?" I chuckled as I began to clean up the game stuff. "That's pathetic."

"Hey!" Oliver protested.

"Well, he ain't wrong, bro." Dani teased, going to grab the rest of the stuff.

"I got it." I told her, sliding the video game and the controllers into my backpack.

"I'm hungry." Dani complained.

"I know; I heard your stomach growl four times." I replied, amused. She gave me a look, pretending to be hurt by the comment. "I was thinking we grab subs?"

"Sure." She pushed herself off the couch. "You coming, Ollie?'

"I guess." My best friend grumbled as we headed out of the Domain.

"C'mon Oliver, chill out. You're acting like a cranky old ma-" I turned around, and to my shock, Oliver had aged even further, "-n."

"Oh my…" Dani stopped, seeing her brother. "Ollie."

"What?" Her brother asked. When neither of us answered, he checked behind him. At first he didn't see anything, but then he caught sight of his reflection in the store's window.

"I've turned into my father! Literally!" He exclaimed. "My gut, my hairline, my desire to dance like this!" He began to do a kind of shuffle, clapping his hands between every movement of his feet.

"Brain Matter's aging power must still be affecting you." Dani realized. "But don't panic, because the way I figure, at this rate, in about an hour you'll be…" She trailed off, doing the calculations in her head. "Dead years old."

"Okay, now you can panic." I advised.

**Alan's POV**

Eventually, I managed to get the porcupine quills to disappear, and by that time, Geminus had reassured me that the disgusting janitor had been cleaned up.

I walked back into the rec room, looking for one of my magazines. Unfortunately, my uncle was already in there.

I tried to turn around and get out of there before he saw me, but it was too late. "Alan, wait!" He stopped me before I could make my escape. "Listen, listen. I don't need a mind-reader to tell me something's bothering you." I sighed and turned around to face me. "Fortunately, we have a mind-reader on staff, and she told me something's bothering you."

He led me over to the couch, then took a seat across from me. "So, why don't we sit over here and you can confide in me as much as you want. I don't care how long it takes."

Wow, my uncle really seemed sincere about that. But still, I wasn't sure how I felt about this. "There's nothing on my mind." I lied. He nodded and went to get up.

"Well, I gave it my best." He announced.

"Sit." Skylar ordered from behind me, where she tossing a medicine ball back and forth with Geminus.

My uncle sighed and sat back down. Then, he fixed me with a serious gaze. "Alan, please. You can tell me anything. I promise I will always support you without judgement."

I hesitated, then made my decision. "Okay." I took a deep breath. "It's just-"

"AH!" Suddenly, Geminus leapt out from behind my uncle's seat, waving her arms like a crazy person.

I leapt up in surprise, having forgotten that the sidekick liked to duplicate herself for fun. Unfortunately, whatever it was that was happening to me decided to kick in just then, a skunk's tail sprouting out of my behind and spraying most of the room with its fumes.

"Oh, that stinks!" Uncle Horace exclaimed, covering his nose with his hand. Geminus looked at her duplicate and Skylar.

"I think our work here is done." She announced, holding open the door. The duplicate and Skylar left the room, Geminus right on their heels.

"What's happening to me?!" I cried, staring at the tail.

"It's perfectly normal." My uncle assured me, though his voice was pained. "A lot of people with powers develop new abilities at your age."

"They do?" I didn't know that. Uncle Horace nodded.

"Yes. It seems you've inherited your grandfather's ability to morph into animals." He explained. "Now, once you learn to control your power, it'll be very useful."

"So I can get a discount at go kart tracks where animals drive for free?" I asked hopefully. That would be awesome!

"I should take you out more." Uncle Horace decided. "Anyway, you can come to me with problems anytime. Although, if you want to be the strong silent type, that's fine too. You can even be the weak silent type. Any type, plus silent. That's the key."

My uncle smiled at me before heading off. I waited back a while, knowing that I would be even more unpopular if I walked out into the hall still smelling like a skunk.

"Hey." A green mask surrounded by red locks peeked inside. "You mad that I did that?"

"No." I replied, much to Geminus' relief. "Thanks for being there for me, both you and Skylar."

"No problem. I'll tell her Skylar you said thanks." She told me, smiling.

"And I know, I smell pretty bad." I commented. She nodded in agreement, wrinkling her nose. "Plus, now there's also the skunk odor."

**Kaz's POV**

By the time we made it to Mighty Med, things were bad, really bad. "Horace!" I shouted, racing into the hospital. Thankfully, the older man was close by. "Oliver is aging uncontrollably."

As if to prove my point, Dani helped Oliver, now in his nineties, shuffle into the room.

"We've got less than an hour before we lose him!" I exclaimed.

"Where's Brain Matter?" Dani called over her shoulder as she helped her brother onto a nearby bed.

"He's at the airport." My heart sank at those words. "His car's been in long-term parking the whole time he's been frozen. Apparently he owes them 65,000 dollars."

"We have to figure out a way to reverse the aging process, now, before Oliver dies of unnatural natural causes!" I exclaimed.

Horace hastened to give Oliver a quick examine. "He has practically no pulse." He muttered, giving my best friend a sad look. "I guess this is the end, Oliver. At least you lived to a ripe old age."

"What are you talking about?" Oliver demanded. "I lived to fifteen, and then, like, one more day!"

I grit my teeth in frustration. Oliver had minutes left, and I couldn't think of anything to help. And judging by the distraught look on her face, Dani didn't either.

"This is all your fault, Horace!" I snapped, needing to blame someone for this. "None of this would have happened if you hadn't tried to fix Brain Matter!"

"You can't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs." He retorted.

"Omelet." Dani repeated, grabbing my arm.

"Now's not the time for a snack, Dani." I told her before glaring at Horace. "It wasn't worth the risk!"

"Kaz!" Dani grabbed my wrist, forcing me to face her. "Omelet!' I looked at her, confused. "Eggs!"

It clicked at those words. "That's genius!" I exclaimed. She beamed.

"Ollie, don't move!" She shouted, sprinting at full speed towards the rec room.

"I'm ninety! Where am I going to go?" Oliver retorted.

"Florida?" Horace suggested.

"You're going to be fine, Oliver. I promise." I assured my best friend as Dani came racing back into the room, her hands cupped together tightly.

"Heritos already hatched, so the caterpillar eggs will have to work." She announced. I grabbed a clean bowl and handed it to her.

"It might be a longshot, but we think eggs might be the solution." I explained to Horace as Dani cracked the caterpillar eggs on the side of the bowl, their insides dripping down to the bottom.

"I understand. We're going to make Denver omelets."

"No, when Brain Matter had the power to turn things younger, he zapped my caterpillars and they transformed into those." I gestured at the last of the tiny eggs in Dani's hand. She ran over to Solar Flare to quickly get the eggs cooked so that they were at least a little edible. "Maybe the eggs are still affect by some of that power."

"And if they are," Dani continued, running back over to us with the bowl of eggs, "eating them might turn Ollie younger."

"That just might work." Horace agreed. "But if it doesn't, then Denver omelets?"

"Sure." Dani agreed, in no mood to discuss this, as she sat down on the edge of Oliver's bed. "Hey, I need you to eat these."

"What is it?" He grumbled tiredly.

"You don't want to know." She replied honestly before tipping the bowl into his mouth. He gulped down the eggs with a disgusted look on his face.

"Now we just hope it works." Dani said breathlessly, stepping away from him.

"It will work." I promised her, hoping that I wasn't wrong.

Thankfully, the eggs did their magic, and quickly. In a matter of seconds, Oliver had reverted back to the age of fifteen.

"You two saved his life!" Horace exclaimed, then frowned. "But you didn't make me an omelet."

"Uh oh." Dani called our attention back to Oliver. The eggs had worked a little too well, as he was now five years old again. "Meh, it's better than being dead."

"Kaz, Dee, thank you for saving me, but I do not want to be five again. You need to change me." Oliver told us seriously.

I nodded. "Okay, buddy. We'll work on it." I agreed.

"No, I mean, you need to  _change_  me." He looked down in embarrassment. "I'm not potty-trained yet."

"Not it!" Dani exclaimed quickly, bolting out of the room.

**Xxx**

After having one of the nurses change Oliver for us, Dani and I set him up in a booster seat while we tried to figure out the solution.

"I got it." I announced, peeling a tangerine I'd gotten from the main part of the E.R. "So, this is a tangerine I got from the plant Brain Matter grew earlier. I figure, if the eggs were able to de-age you, then a bite of this should age you up to your normal age."

Oliver nodded and allowed me to pop a slice of tangerine into his mouth. He quickly began to age, breaking the booster seat in the process, but stopped at fifteen – the age we were hoping for.

"Awesome!" Oliver grinned, looking down and realizing that he was the right age.

"So good to have you back, Ollie." Dani helped him up, giving him a quick hug.

"Good to be back." He replied. I smiled.

"Now we can focus on what's really important." I announced. Oliver nodded.

"Like trying to enjoy every day as we live it, instead of wishing we were older all the time?" He guessed.

"No." I replied. "Playing unrated, nightmare-inducing games like Unbridled Mayhem."

I laughed, quickly sliding the game into the player and sitting down on the couch. Dani and Oliver sat on either side of me, one waiting impatiently for her turn, and the other already bored of the game.

"Hey," Alan chose that moment to walk in, "what are you-AH!"

Now, I was expecting his scream at the sight of the bloody game, but I don't think any of us expected him to transform into a butterfly.

"What just happened?" Oliver questioned. Dani shook her head.

"Just when I think this place can't get any weirder." She muttered. I grinned.

"You guys know what that is?" I asked. They both shook their heads. "My new biology lab."


	12. Night of the Living Nightmare

**Dani's POV**

"Alright, Clone Master, it looks like that fracture is healing up quite nicely." I sent a smile at the older superhero before glancing down at his chart. I quickly wrote some things down on a slip of paper. "You're free to go, but remember to pick up these painkillers before you sign out."

"Thank you, Dani." He replied, accepting the prescription paper with the hand that wasn't encased in a plaster cast. I nodded.

"I'll tell Gem you're leaving." I offered, heading off to find my best friend. I found her, Kaz, and Ollie looking at my brother's phone, video-chatting with Jordan. "Hey Jordan."

"Hey Dani." Our friend greeted before getting back to the conversation she'd been having with the others. "So, are you guys coming to the Gargoyles and Goblets tournament at the Domain tonight? Anyone who's no one is going to be there."

"Oh, is that Jordan?" Skylar asked, walking up behind us with a grin. "Hey Jordan!"

"Oh, is that Connie?" Jordan asked in false-enthusiasm before hanging up the call. Skylar looked a little hurt.

"I'm sure I'm just imagining it, but sometimes I get the feeling that Jordan doesn't like me." She mentioned.

"Don't be silly." Kaz told her. "You're not imagining it; she can't stand you."

"It's true." I agreed before turning to Alivia. "Clone Master's checking out, by the way."

"Oh, thanks." Alivia nodded before heading off to go see her father.

"How can she not like me?" Skylar demanded, stunned.

"Don't take it personally, Skylar. Jordan doesn't like anyone." Ollie assured her, trying to help. "She's throwing a 'sour sixteen party'. Nobody is invited."

"But everyone has to like me!" Skylar insisted as we went over the charts of another hero. "I'm Skylar Storm! I was adored by millions! So I swear, by the sacred rings of Caldera, I shall not rest until Jordan is, like, totally my BFF!"

And with a determined look on her face, Skylar waltzed out of the hospital, heading for the Domain. "Well, that's going to go well." I commented sarcastically.

Suddenly, all of our phones beeped at the same time, letting us know that we could leave. "Finally." Ollie muttered, exhausted. "I can't wait to go home and sleep until Monday. I don't know how I let you guys talk me into watching the entire Marvel series marathon last night."

"Oh, please." I rolled my eyes. "You loved it as much as we did."

"Kids." Horace walked over to us. "I need you to work the night shift, which means you won't sleep 'till Monday."

"But Horace, we're exhausted." I protested.

"And what are we supposed to tell our parents?" Ollie added. "Dani and I can't exactly tell our mom that we work here."

"Just tell her that you guys are sleeping at my house." Kaz suggested. Horace nodded.

"Oh, I get it. Then you'll tell your parents that you're sleeping at Oliver and Dani's house." He guessed.

"Don't have to – my parents have eleven kids. They won't even notice I'm gone." Kaz replied, shrugging.

"Alright then." Horace went to leave, then turned back to us. "Oh, and one more thing; you may have heard that the night shift can be a bit scary, but you'll be fine." He assured us. "Unless a once in a lifetime lunar eclipse causes the most horrifying night ever. But what are the odds tonight?"

"Hey, are you guys excited for the lunar eclipse tonight?" Alivia asked, walking up to us. We looked at her, then at Horace.

"Apparently, 99 out of 100." The man informed us before walking away to deal with another patient.

**Kaz's POV**

Bored. I was bored. I was very, very bored, but no one seemed to care.

I spun around on top of one of those twistable stools, trying to entertain myself. There were hardly any patients, and none that needed medical attention at that moment. Oliver was going through some old files, Dani was copying some of her brother's homework, and Alivia was busy texting Jaime.

"Ugh, nothing's happening!" I complained loudly, hoping for some attention. "Who thought a lunar eclipse could be so boring? How long have we been here?"

"Six minutes." All three of them answered simultaneously, not a single one of them looking up from what they were doing. I sighed and walked over to Dani.

"Do something with me." I requested.

"Can't, busy. Need to pass math." She replied, glancing back at Oliver's notebook before writing in her own. "Ollie, you need better handwriting."

"You need to start doing your own work." Her brother shot back.

"Why?" She questioned, confused. "We're twins; we share everything. And that includes homework."

Before Oliver could argue with her, the doors to the ER swung open, and an older superhero walked in. He was an older hero, with greying hair and a familiar dark brown uniform with shiny sleeves. I recognized him immediately as Neocortex, a hero with telepathic abilities. Oliver, Dani, and I had met him a few weeks ago, while treating him. As usual, things had gone a little crazy for a time, but even after we got everything settled, I still got the feeling that he didn't like us very much.

"Hey, Neocrotex." Oliver smiled, walking up to the man. "We haven't seen you since that time we almost turned your brain into a nuclear bomb."

"What's wrong?" Dani interrupted Oliver before he could remind Neocortex even further about our past mistakes.

"Whenever I try to read someone's mind, they fall into a daydream-like state." He admitted. "But I was hoping to talk to Doctor ANYONE BUT YOU."

"Yeah, it's his night off." I informed him. "And it's pronounce Aniwon Butchoo."

He rolled his eyes at that, apparently not caring. "Well, you're in luck. We just got a device that allows us to create a mind-link that will allow us to see into a patient's mind and diagnose their medical mysteries."

"Why don't you let me show you what's been happening." Neocortex insisted, obviously impatient. Oliver stepped away before he could try.

"Don't try it on me! What if you fry my brain?" He demanded. "Try it on someone who serves no function."

"I serve no function. What do you need?" Philip, the large-headed nurse, offered, walking up to us in hopes of being useful.

"Just put this on." Dani told him, handing him one of the three metal helmets designed to create mind-link. I took another one off the table and put it on my own head, adjusting the size easily. "We just to see if this will let us see what's going on inside that head of yours."

"Okay," he slipped on the metal helmet, "but don't make fun of my head. We all know it's embarrassingly tiny."

Neocortex looked Philip in the eye, using his abilities, just as Oliver hit a button on a remote. Suddenly, my vision changed completely, a sharp image of Philip, dressed in a tuxedo, accepting a golden trophy for having the biggest head in the universe. I could hear applause coming from somewhere I couldn't see as Philip thanked them. "You like my head, you really, really like my head." He cried joyfully.

Then the image disappeared, and I was back in Mighty Med. Philip pulled off the helmet with a disappointed look on his face. "It was only a daydream?" He demanded. "How could a head so small be filled with dreams so big?"

"Thanks Philip." Dani took the helmet from him and he walked away, thinking hard about his daydream. I grinned as I handed my helmet over to her.

"That was cool." I grinned at her before turning to Neocortex. "You're causing people to get lost in their greatest fantasies. Using this thing is like reading Oliver's diary, only interesting."

"I need to figure out how to cure Neocortex." Oliver muttered, thinking. "And, also, how to work that tiny lock on my diary."

"What? Don't fix him!" I protested. "We finally have something fun to do!"

I looked around for a target, and saw Lizardman walking through the hall. "Oh, do Lizardman! I bet his fantasy is Godzilla, but, like, a really hot Godzilla in a bikini!"

Lizardman stopped to consider that, nodding happily at the thought after a moment.

**Dani's POV**

"So these things work like three ways?" Kaz questioned, looking at the third helmet. I nodded.

"Horace got an extra so that we could have two doctors working on the patient, since it's better to have a second opinion." I replied, placing one on my head. "The two of them with black dot on the back are for viewing what's going on inside someone's head, and the one with the red dot on the back is to be placed on the head of the person we want to see inside the head of."

"Like Oliver." Kaz added, grinning. I glanced at my brother, who was speaking to Neocortex.

"Definitely." I agreed, handing him the two remaining helmets. He put the correct one on his head, then began to sneak up on Ollie. I walked slowly behind him, not wanting to give ourselves away.

"During your battle with the Re-Atomizer, you must have scrambled the neural-connections in your brain." He was saying, writing some notes down on the hero's chart. Kaz slowly lowered the helmet on to my brother's head.

"Put him in a trance!" Kaz hissed, but Ollie ducked out from under the helmet before giving Kaz a look.

"You are really bad at whispering." He informed him before going back to his patient. Kaz nodded.

"I know!" He agreed in the same loud-whisper tone. I rolled my eyes and looked around to see if there was anyone else we could use this on. As far as I could see, there were only a couple of nurses working, Alley Cat, who was fast asleep in a bed, and Alivia, who was playing games on her phone.

"Okay, question: if you were just going to play on your phone all-night, why'd you insist on staying up with us?" I asked, walking over to the Irish girl. She shrugged.

"Well, usually I go visit Jaime on weekends, but she's helping the police with a bank robber, so I doubt there'd be time to do anything together, and sitting here is better than sitting at home doing nothing."

"Fair enough." I agreed. I was about to ask her what game she was playing when a wave of blue-ish green energy floated across the room, covering us in a sort of mist. "What was that?"

"Uh, that was me." Neocortex raised his hand as the mist evaporated. I yawned, suddenly feeling a bit worn down. Alivia followed suit. "I farted, and then that happened."

Soon, everyone in the room was stifling yawns. "Your phsycic burst must have raised everyone's melatonin levels." Ollie decided.

"Meaning?" Kaz questioned, yawning.

"We're all getting drowsy." Ollie explained. "We need to find a way to cure Neocortex before he gets worse."

"Let's not rush to cure anybody." Kaz retorted. "Who are we to say who lives and who gets their privacy invaded for my amusement?"

"And-" I was about to add something to his comment, but was interrupted by Neocortex.

"What's wrong with Alley Cat?" He demanded, concern lacing his tone. Looking over, I could see the female cat-themed superhero twitching in her sleep, tossing and turning relentlessly. I got out of my chair, heading towards her, but Kaz got to her before anyone else could, slipping the mind link helmets onto both of them. After a moment, he let out a relieved breath.

"She's just having a nightmare. Instead of jumping from building to building and landing on her feet like she's used to, she's falling into a bottomless pit. It's a very calm and harmless-AHHH!" He suddenly screamed, a horrified look on his face as Alley Cat went limp. "Okay, that bottomless pit? Turns out it had a bottom."

Suddenly, the machines attached to Alley Cat started beeping, then a long, high-pitched sound came from, signaling that she had no heart-beat. Ollie grabbed her wrist as Kaz removed his helmet. "She has no brain-activity." I announced, looking at the machines.

"And no pulse." My brother added, eyes wide. "That means she's-"

"Dead." We turned to see Horace standing a few feet behind us, plugging his cell phone into a charger. "I forgot my phone charger here, and now my cell is dead. What's going on?"

"Neocortex's powers are malfunctioning and now Alleycat is dead." My brother worried. Kaz and I both sighed, knowing that he'd have forgotten one of the best things about the hero. As we expected, seconds after Ollie announced her passing, Alley Cat shot straight up, breathing heavy and looking around in confusion as her vitals returned to normal.

"Uh, was dead." I corrected.

"Fortunately, one of her powers is that she has nine lives." Kaz explained, gently lowering her back into the bed. "So, she's got eight lives left."

And as luck would have it, a ceiling light chose that moment to fall onto the woman, killing her instantly.

"Seven lives left." I corrected, pushing the light off her just as she came back to life once more.

"So instead of putting people into fantasies, now you're putting people into nightmares?" Ollie questioned Neocortex incredulously.

"And when Alley Cat died in her nightmare, she did in real life too." Kaz added. "Is the same thing going to happen to everyone exposed to your powers that falls asleep?"

"That sounds about right." Neocortex agreed.

"Well, this is great." I commented sarcastically. "We need to find a way to cure Neocortex."

"I've been saying that all night!" Ollie exclaimed. I looked at him, frowning.

"Have you? I didn't notice." I shrugged.

"We will find a way to cure him, but until we do, we have to make sure no one here falls asleep." Horace decided. Seconds later, a lullaby-like melody started playing, the tune making us all a little drowsier.

"Whoops." Horace pressed a button on his cell phone, shutting off the music. 'Given the circumstances, that was an unfortunate choice of ringtones."

"Agreed." I nodded. Horace put away his phone, then rushed to wake up Alley Cat.

"We need to keep everyone awake!" He instructed. Kaz immediately ran to the other side of the room, pulling a few heroes off nearby beds. I started going to each of the nurses, checking to make sure they weren't dozing off. Then, I had an idea.

"Hey, Liv. Wanna help?" I turned to the redhead. She nodded, getting up from her seat. "There's a coffee maker in the staff room, and about twenty people here."

"Good idea." She nodded before heading off to start brewing some coffee. I personally wasn't a fan of the drink, but it seemed like a good idea right about now. I walked over to Horace, informing him of the plan, just as Ollie's phone began to beep.

"Crap, it's Mom." He announced. "She's calling me on video chat."

"What's going on?" Kaz asked, coming over to where we were standing.

"Our mom is calling me on video chat." I explained, annoyed. Perfect timing, Mom. As usual.

"We can't ignore it, or she'll get worried and show up at your house, but if I answer it, she'll see that we're here instead." Ollie worried. "We never should have lied to her."

"Don't worry; I planned for this." Kaz reassured us. We looked at him, surprised. What did he have planned? "Commence Operation I Planned for This. Follow me!"

He led us into the rec room, where he had set up a mini-version of his room. There was a twin bed with a large mattress next to it, clothing strewn all over the floor and the bed. There were two sets of pillows and blankets on the mattress next to the bed, obviously trying to make it look like Ollie and I had doubled-up. It looked pretty good, I had to admit, but there was something off about it.

"My mom is never going to believe that this is your room." Ollie stated, looking at it. He looked around, then grabbed a nearby garbage can and dumped its contents onto the end of Kaz's bed. "Okay, now she'll believe it."

"Pretend like you're asleep." I told Kaz before hitting the light switch. Kaz leapt into the bed, grabbing a pillow and shoving it under his head while Ollie and I climbed onto the mattress. We each placed an earbud into our ears, then Ollie answered the call, making sure to keep the camera focused on us.

"Hey Mom." Ollie faked a yawn and I rubbed at my eyes. "You woke us up."

Mom smiled at us from what appeared to be her office.  _"I just wanted to check in."_

"We can't really talk right now." I told her. "Kaz is sleeping."

Kaz let out a convincing snore to prove our point. Mom nodded, completely buying our story.  _"Alright. Goodnight."_

"Good night." Ollie and I said in unison. Ollie hung up and we both jumped off the mattress, relieved and surprised that Kaz's plan actually worked. "Okay, Kaz. She bought it."

We went to leave, but Kaz was still lying in the bed, making those snoring noises. "Stop fooling around, man." Ollie sighed. I shook Kaz's leg.

"C'mon." I insisted, but he didn't move. Ollie and I stopped, watching him, and soon it became clear that he really was fast asleep. "Kaz, wake up!" I insisted, shoving him rougher. But he didn't move. "Kaz! Ollie!"

"He's really sleeping." My brother said in horror, before shaking Kaz. "Kaz, you have to wake up or you'll die! Kaz!"

**Xxx**

"Horace!" I shouted, racing into the ER. Ollie was right behind me, pushing the cart we'd managed to get Kaz onto. Our best friend was still out like a light, curled up in a ball on top of the medical cart. "Kaz fell asleep!"

"Here." Alivia offered, helping Ollie lie him down on one of the gurneys.

"Is there any way we could use the mind link devices so we could help him before his nightmare destroys him?" I questioned hopefully. Horace shook his head grimly.

"The lunar eclipse has caused all of our technology to malfunction." He explained. "Even our most important piece of technology; my electric toothbrush. I haven't brushed in over an hour!"

"Well there's got to be some way to help him!" I insisted.

"Neocortex!" My brother pushed past me. "You can project your consciousness into other people's minds, and you can read our minds. Do you think you can combine those powers and project our consciousnesses into Kaz's dream?"

The hero hesitated. "My powers are pretty messed up right now, but I can try. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Oliver and Dani's heads could explode?" Horace guessed. Ollie and I stared at him in horror. Explode?

"Yes, of course, but I meant what's the worst that can happen to me?" Neocortex explained. I took a deep breath and looked at my twin brother.

"We have to. It's Kaz." I murmured. Ollie nodded and looked at Horace, a determined look on his face.

"We can't lose our best friend." He told our boss. "We're just going to have to take that chance."

"C'mon." I climbed up onto a bed to the right of Kaz's, while Ollie laid down on the one on his left.

"Wait, Dani, Oliver, before you do this, in case anything goes horribly wrong…" He looked at us, then grabbed a stack of newspapers from under the counter. "I want to put down these newspapers. I just waxed this floor."

"Just send us in before he says anything else." Oliver requested. Neocortex looked at us.

"You guys care who goes first?" He questioned. We shook our heads, and he motioned for me to lie down. I did so, and closed my eyes. I felt him put his hand on the top of my head, and slowly, but surely, my consciousness faded.

**Kaz's POV**

I always hated taking tests. I was never good at them. Even if I did study, usually with Oliver's help, my mind would blank the moment the paper would be placed in front of me. But what made this even worse was the empty classroom and the teacher that was prowling around me, waiting for me to screw up or circle the wrong multiple choice.

I looked up briefly from the paper, disheartened that I had no idea what was on it, and glanced at the teacher. Suddenly, the woman changed and grew, becoming Megahertz, Tecton's greatest enemy. I stood up in shock, just as two very surprised screams came from behind me. I whipped around to see Dani and Oliver standing just a few feet behind me, stunned.

"What are you guys doing here?" I demanded.

"Oh, you know, just hanging out." Dani laughed nervously, looking at Megahertz. The supervillain laughed menacingly.

"Class is in session!" He announced. "Today's lesson: electricity."

Megahertz raised his hands and red electricity flew from his fingers. The electricity hit the desks and the other furniture in the room, making them disappear. Even the wall decorations vanished. The only things left in the room were Megahertz, Dani, Oliver, and myself. I looked back at my friends, shocked that Megahertz hadn't hurt us with his electricity.

Megahertz then raised his hands, electricity flowing between them. "Kaz, quick! Think of Megahertz inside a cage!" Oliver shouted.

"What, why?" I demanded, daring to look back at them for one more brief second before turning my gaze back on Megahertz. He was powering up his charge, clearly planning to finish us off.

"Just do it!" Dani insisted. I gave into their pleas, thinking hard about that electric cage we'd once rescued Oliver from, and imagining it around Megahertz. To my genuine surprise, said cage appeared, growing up from the ground and encasing Megahertz in it. Deciding not to question it right then, I raced out of the room and into my school's lobby, Dani and Oliver following right behind.

"How did that happen and what is going on?" I demanded, panicking. I glanced down at my hand, shocked to see that it had turned into a fish. "And why is my hand a rainbow trout?"

I shook my hand in hopes that the fish would disappear. Soon, the fish was replaced by my hand, fingers and all. "Kaz, calm down." Dani told me. "The good news is; this is only a nightmare. None of it's real."

"The bad news, though, is if you die in this nightmare, you'll die in real life." Oliver added.

"What?" I don't know if they were trying to be reassuring, but they certainly we're doing a very good job of it.

"Kaz, this is your dream. You have the power to do anything you think you can do." Dani told me, an unusually serious look on her face. "You just have to focus."

"I can?" I breathed, thinking it over. I nodded, getting an idea. "I know what I have to do."

I closed my eyes and created a clear image in my head. After a moment, I heard Oliver's exasperated sigh. "What is that going to do?"

I opened my eyes and looked down at my clothes, which had been covered with a long, cool, black coat. "It always helps to have a cool coat." I told him, adjusting the collar. Dani rolled her eyes at me, then froze when we heard Megahertz escape from his cage.

"Kaz, quick! Get in the locker!" Dani told me. She and Oliver disappeared then, not giving me the chance to argue. I did as they said, climbing into the locker and closing the door behind me. Almost immediately, another locker door appeared in front of me. I stepped through it, finding myself at another part of the hallway. I shut the door behind me, then heard another locker slam shut behind me. I spun around and to my horror, saw Megahertz storming towards me, a furious look on his face.

He created a ball of electricity in his hands and threw it directly at me. I instinctively leapt into the air, my jump so powerful I flew several feet up, and managed to do a backflip before landing gracefully on my feet. I grinned as adrenaline pumped through my veins, surprised that it actually worked.

Megahertz continued to throw balls of electricity at me, but I jumped into the air, hit the wall, and ran across the lockers, dodging each and every attack. I pushed myself off the lockers, going through the air. My foot hit Megahertz in the back of the head, knocking him forwards a step and giving me the extra boost I needed to land on the stairs.

I went to race up the stairs, but Megahertz stopped me by shooting a ball of electricity a foot in front of me. He then created an axe out of the electricity and threw it at my chest. I did another backflip into the air to avoid it, but Megahertz had been expecting it. He used his electricity to catch me mid-air. He held me there, the electricity sending stabs of pain throughout my entire body.

"Dani! Oliver!" I called, hoping my friends would come to my rescue. "He's too powerful! Help me!"

"We can't." Oliver and Dani appeared on the stairs near me, pained expressions on both of their faces. "We're not really here."

And just like that, they were gone. "You're right. I have to rely on myself."

Then, I had an idea. I had to rely on myself, so I would create a second me. My duplicate stood near the stairs, admiring his outfit. "Dude!" I called when he made no movement to help me out. "I could use a hand here."

"Right." My duplicate nodded. "You got it, Kaz."

He looked at Megahertz, who was too busy focusing on me to notice the other me, then my duplicate teleported beside him, and kicked one of the lockers with all his might. His kicked pushed that part of the lockers backwards, and the other end slid forwards, knocking Megahertz into a nearby wall. Then my duplicate used his powers – because if I can do anything, I am totally giving myself superpowers – to psychically push another wall into Megahertz, flattening the villain between the two walls.

The force of the blow managed to weaken Megahertz long enough for me to escape his electric grasp, and I landed on the ground in the middle of the room. My duplicate raced back over to me, grinning. Just then, Megahertz pushed away the second wall, and turned to face us. He raised his hands, which had mysteriously turned into rocket launchers, and launched two rockets, one targeting each of us.

My duplicate and I merely raised our hands, stopping the rockets a few feet away from our faces without breaking a sweat. Megahertz froze, surprised that we were able to do that. I looked at my duplicate and we exchanged grins before sending the rockets straight back at him. He didn't get the change to mount any type of defense, and the rockets hit him dead on, destroying him in an explosion of blue lightning and smoke.

I looked at my duplicate, smirking. "That," I said.

"Was," He said.

"AWESOME!" I exclaimed, as my dream disappeared and I found myself sitting in a hospital bed at Mighty Med. Dani and Oliver were on beds on either side of me, slowing getting up.

"Kaz is alive!" Horace beamed as we all climbed out of our beds. "Well done!"

I turned to Dani and Oliver and gave them each a hug. "Thanks for saving me, guys."

"We got each other's backs, right?" Dani smiled at me, her hand on my arm. Oliver nodded.

"We'd do it again. Just say the word." He promised. I frowned, having always found that expression confusing.

"What word?" I questioned. Oliver and Dani both thought about it.

"I don't know. Help, I guess?" Oliver shrugged.

"Before we start celebrating, we have a problem." Neocortex told us. "Everyone's asleep."

We looked around, horrified to realize he was right. Everyone in the room was fast asleep. Even Alivia was down for the count, her face buried in her arms as a tray of coffees went cold beside her.

"Sorry. My party horn broke and this shoe horn makes no noise whatsoever." Horace tried blowing on a black shoehorn. "See?"

"We have to go into their nightmares and save them!" I insisted.

"There's not enough time." Dani said in a distraught voice.

"There's nothing we can do but hope for a miracle." Oliver told us.

"Miracle? For what?" Alivia raised her head drowsily, her mask askew on her face. To our surprise, the other staff members and patients in the room began to awaken, yawning tiredly.

"That was easy." Oliver commented. Dani nodded.

"The lunar eclipse must have ended." She decided. Neocortex looked around.

"The lunar eclipse must have been what was messing with my powers, because I can read minds again." He turned on me to test it. After a moment of focusing, he gave me a look. "You're bored again, aren't you?"

"So bored!" I agreed. "Nothing cool has happened in, like, twenty seconds!"

"C'mon. Let's go see if we can find something to do until our shift is over." Dani sighed, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me away from the main part of the ER. I glanced at my watch, and to my surprise, I realized that we were only a few hours into our 12-hour night shift. I grinned; if that much excitement had happened in only three hours, who knew what kind of fun we could get into during the rest the rest of the night?


	13. Mighty Mad

**Kaz's POV**

The moment I walked into school this morning, I could tell something was different. The atmosphere felt…charged with energy, I guess I would call it, almost like something was about to happen. I might have ignored it, but then I caught sight of Oliver and Dani, two of the closest siblings I'd ever met, about two seconds away from ripping each other's heads off. Seriously, the two were at each other's throats, waving their hands dramatically as they argued about something.

I walked over to Skylar, who was watching the entire thing with raised eyebrows. "Uh, how long have they been like this?"

"Almost twenty minutes now." Skylar informed me. I looked at them, stunned. "Have you ever seen them fight like this?"

"Never." I admitted. "I mean, little arguments are one thing, but I've never seen them actually fight before. What happened?"

"From what I've gathered, Oliver broke a promise, and Dani's not too happy about it." She shrugged. "I really don't know."

"We should probably break them up, right?" She guessed after a moment. I looked back at the twins and decided that they probably weren't gonna stop any time soon.

"Definitely." I agreed, jogging up to my two best friends. I quickly stepped between them, putting my arms around their shoulders.

"Hey, hey, hey!" I said loudly, interrupting their bickering. "We're all friends here, right?"

"Go away, Kaz." Dani retorted, ducking under my arm to open her locker.

"You're so overly sensitive." Oliver muttered, opening his backpack. Dani scoffed at that.

"Yeah and you're-" Skylar cut her off before she could finish.

"What are you two fighting about?" She demanded.

"Butt out, Connie." Dani retorted. Skylar glared at her.

"Don't tell me to butt out!" The alien girl snapped. Dani laughed darkly.

"What are you going to do about? Use your powers on me?" She teased. Skylar looked at her for a moment, then lunged at her. Luckily, I had been expecting it, and pulled Dani out of harm's way before Skylar could rip her head off.

"Ladies, ladies! You're both pretty!" I joked, trying to calm them down. This was ridiculous! I mean, it wasn't like Dani to go so low as to bring up Skylar's powers, but it wasn't like Skylar was trying to avoid that fight either.

"Kaz," Stephanie smiled, smirked, walking over to us. "I'm glad you found someone else to hit on besides me."

She gestured at Dani, whom I was holding around the waist in order to stop her from attacking Skylar. I released her immediately. "I'm not hitting on Dani! Why would I hit on Dani?" I demanded.

"Hey!" The short haired girl exclaimed, glaring at me.

"Dude, don't hit on my sister!" Oliver snapped, pushing between us. Dani pushed him away.

"You don't get to decide who hits on me!" She growled.

"So you were hitting on her!" Stephanie exclaimed.

"No!" I shook my head. "Please, I'd sooner hit on…" I looked around for a nearby girl. "Connie."

Suddenly, Skylar slammed me into the nearest locker, holding me there with one hand. "You were hitting on me?"

"No! I wasn't hitting on you!" I protested, trying to escape, but my words only angered her further.

"So I'm not good enough to hit on?" She demanded, pressing on my collarbone even harder.

"Yeah, Connie's cute!" Oliver agreed. Skylar spun around, grabbing him by the front of his jacket, and shoved him into the locker next to me.

"Who are you calling cute?" She snarled as he stared at her in terror.

"I wasn't saying that you aren't cute, I was saying-" Before I could finish explaining, Connie pushed me back into the lockers.

"Who are you not calling not cute?" She demanded.

"So by negative inference, you are calling her cute!" Oliver realized. "Stop hitting on people!"

"And stop pushing people into lockers!" Dani snapped. "You don't get to treat them like that!"

"Guys, stop it!" I told them, trying to get in between them before they started throwing punches or something.

"Fight, fight, fight!" Gus appeared out of nowhere, trying to start a 'fight' chant just as the substitute teacher, Mr. Patterson, walked into the hall. The man was tall and black, and wearing a jogging suit as his gym teacher uniform.

"Kaz!" The large, overweight gym teacher scolded, pulling me away from both the girls. "Stop picking on Connie and Dani! What's wrong with you, fighting with a couple of girls?"

"We weren't fighting, Mr. Patterson!" I protested. Well, maybe they were, but I wasn't.

"Are you saying I don't know a fight when I see one?" He questioned. Gus grinned.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The shorter boy began to chant again.

"Oh, so now you want to fight a teacher?" Mr. Patterson demanded.

"I don't want to fight anyone!" I exclaimed in exasperation. How did I get myself mixed up in all of this? I should have just let the girls fight it out and watch them get in trouble! "Gus just keeps saying 'fight! Fight! Fight!'"

"There's a fight? Where?" Gus looked around curiously, then went off in search of said fight.

"What a weird kid." Mr. Patterson muttered before looking back at us. "Alright, you fou-Hey!"

Dani, Skylar, and I turned around just in time to see Oliver turn the corner, having bolt from the hallway.

"Did he seriously just run?" Dani questioned, skeptically.

"Yeah, I, uh, think he did." Normally, I would have laughed at that, the very thought of Oliver running away from trouble amusing me, but I was hardly in the best of moods right now.

"Uh, alright." Apparently, Mr. Patterson hadn't seen that one before. "You three, follow me."

When he led us outside the school and into the courtyard rather than the detention room, I groaned. That meant a physical punishment, like jumping jacks or something. I hated those; at least in detention I could nap or do something equally unproductive.

"This isn't fair! Why isn't Oliver getting in trouble?" I demanded, dumping my backpack on the ground.

"Because he ran away, and they don't pay me enough to chase people." The teacher replied. "Now drop and give me fifty sit-ups."

"Fine." I sat down on the ground between Skylar and Dani. "I'll do one and they can split the other 49 between themselves."

"Fifty each." Mr. Patterson clarified. I stared at him.

"Fifty each?!" I exclaimed in protest. Was this man trying to kill us or something?

Dani and Skylar both started doing their sit-ups quickly, not saying a word while they did so. I was half-way through my first when I glanced over at Mr. Patterson, who had his back turned to me. He took a step forward and disappeared through the doors, and I don't mean he opened the doors and walk through the door way. I mean he actually walked through the doors, as if they weren't there at all. I stopped in shock, staring. Then it all clicked.

The strange atmosphere in the air, everyone's ridiculously bad moods, and the walking through things…the only person who could do all that was the super villain Dr. Wrath. "Did you just see that?" I demanded. "Mr. Patterson just passed through those solid doors."

Both girls paused, but while Dani looked towards the doors with a considerate expression, Skylar just rolled her eyes. "I think you're hallucinating from the strain of your one sit-up."

"But it all makes sense. Mr. Patterson is the villain Dr. Wrath, who feeds off of negative energy." I explained. Skylar and Dani both sat up, listening. "Dr. Wrath can pass through matter, and all the fighting at school started when he showed up. He must be instigating the negativity to power himself."

"So the supervillain Dr. Wrath drives a fifteen-year-old car with a bumper missing?" Skylar questioned skeptically.

"It is a bit of a stretch, Kaz." Dani agreed.

"Does he even look like Dr. Wrath?" Skylar added.

"…Actually, no one knows what he looks like; he hides his appearance with a shroud. Not to mention, he always skipped picture day in high school." Dani mentioned, thinking about it. "But I don't know, Kaz."

"Okay, he just left, right? Not ten minutes ago, you two were trying to murder each other. You still feel like doing that now?" I questioned. They both sent each other guilty looks, but didn't answer my question. "See? Mr. Patterson is Dr. Wrath and we have to stop him!"

"Just let it go!" Skylar sighed audibly. "Just because you work at a superhero hospital doesn't make a superhero. Everyone thinks that they can battle evil, just like everyone always thinks they can sing."

"I can sing!" I retorted defensively. "I was getting over a sore throat the day that you heard me! And today, so don't ask."

Dani gave me a sympathetic smile. "No, sweetie, you can't sing."

"And you can?" I challenged. She laughed at that, a short, amused sound.

"No. I sound like a dying walrus when I sing." She admitted. "But at least I'm honest about it."

Suddenly, the doors to the courtyard swung open and Mr. Patterson walked out. "I have to go monitor detention. How many sit-ups have you done?" He questioned. I stood up.

"Uh, let's see. Zero plus zero…carry the zero…Zero." I stated, crossing my arms. Dani grabbed me by the arm, pulling me away.

"What are you doing?" She hissed.

"Getting detention so I can spy on him." I whispered back before turning to Mr. Patterson. "I refuse to do any stupid sit-ups."

"Fine. You know what your punishment will be?" He replied before gesturing at himself. "This in ten years."

"You're only twenty-five?" Skylar demanded, shocked.

"Scary isn't it?" He turned to go back inside, so I rushed to stop him.

"Hey, look at me!" I leaned on the edge of a bike. "I'm loitering."

"There's no rule against loitering. It's school; you're supposed to be here!" Mr. Patterson exclaimed. I tried to think.

"Is there a rule against lettering?" I start creating letters with my arms, just like in the YMCA song.

"Nope." He replied, unamused.

"Laddering?" I tried, climbing up a few steps on a nearby ladder.

"No." He shook his head. I looked around, then caught sight of Skylar's backpack. I raced towards it before she could stop me and dumped its contents on the ground.

"There is a rule against littering!" Mr. Patterson snapped at me before I could say anything. "Detention, all three of you!"

"But-" Dani's protest died in her throat. She turned to glare at me. "Thank you, Kaz."

"You are welcome." I smirked at her. Skylar looked at me.

"How did you take you four tries to get 'littering'?" She questioned incredulously. "There's a sign right there!"

I glanced back at the large red and white sign up on the wall that read 'No Littering' in big, bold letters, then shrugged. "I was too busy loitering, lettering, and laddering."

**Oliver's POV**

I checked my phone with my left hand as I headed into the rec room at Mighty Med, using my back to open the doors. After our fight this morning, I'd texted my sister to see if she wanted to talk, because though Dani completely over-reacted to what had happened, I was partially to blame as well.

"Hey, Oliver." I looked up to see Alivia and Jaime sitting on the couch, the latter' head resting on the latter's lap as they talked. A plate of pale brown squares sat on a plate on the table, an orangish-red sauce on the side.

"Hey guys." I smiled at them, placing my own lunch – a cheese steak sandwich – on the table. "Hey, Jaime, how's your knee feeling?"

"Better. The physical therapy's helping." The blonde superhero replied, reaching for a square off the plate. Alivia looked at me, a frown on her face.

"So, I've got a question." She looked at me. "Why is Dani, a person who despises guava, looking for places that sell guava?"

I sighed, realizing what my sister was up to. "Her famous strawberry and guava apology smoothies."

"What is she apologizing for?" Jaime questioned, confused.

"We got in a fight." I explained. Alivia raised an eyebrow at that.

"Why?" She waved her hand in a circle, motioning for me to continue.

"I promised her I'd help her with her community service project, and then kinda bailed on her." I admitted guilty.

"Well, I'm sure you had a good reason." She offered. I shook my head.

"I went to see a movie with Skylar." I smiled sheepishly at the looks on their faces. "I made Dani that promise a week ago! I forgot that we were supposed to go to the senior's center last night, and by time I remembered, she'd already gone without me. And I was going to apologize, but she wouldn't listen."

"Yeah, Kaz has a theory about that." Alivia agreed, looking at her phone. Both Jaime and I looked at her. "Long story; he thinks he found a supervillain."

"And what do you think?" Jaime questioned. Alivia smirked.

"Judging by his description of the suspect, I don't think he found a super  _villain_." She shrugged. "Oh well, that should be an interesting story to hear about later. Oh, hello Alan."

I looked up to see that Alan had walked into the room. I nodded at him politely, then unwrapped my sandwich, and took a delicious bite out of it. I hummed pleasantly at the taste, savoring the sweetness for as long as I could.

"What are you so happy and annoying about?" Alan questioned, looking at me suspiciously.

"This here is the best thing ever; a cheese steak sandwich from Pierro's." I licked my lips. "I mean, if deliciousness was a crime, this sandwich would be on death row, and ask for this sandwich for its last meal. You want a bite?"

"Are you crazy? I refuse to eat Normo food. My diet consists only of nutrients squares." Alan replied as I continued to chow down on my lunch. "They're the building blocks of a healthy diet."

"And this hospital." Alivia added, nodding at a construction worker. He was repairing the far wall that had been damaged during a game of indoor tetherball with The Crusher (brilliant idea, Dani). To my surprise, he was rebuilding that damaged part of the wall with squares identical to the ones on Alivia and Jaime's plates.

Alan reached forward and grabbed one of them off their plate, much to Jaime's annoyance. The blonde haired superhero sat straight up, glaring daggers at Alan. "Hey! Give that back!"

"Make me." Alan retorted, taking a bite of the crunchy squares, earning an even more hateful look for Jaime. Before the girl could do anything, however, Alivia stopped her, grabbing her around the waist and lying her head on Jaime's shoulder.

"Let it go." She murmured to her girlfriend. "He can have one."

"Fine." Jaime muttered reluctantly, clearly still annoyed. Suddenly, I had an idea.

"Alan!" I grinned at him, much to his confusion. "I have an assignment for my community service class to change someone's life for the better."

"Perfect. You can start by leaving." Alan replied.

"And taking him with you." Jaime added, gesturing at Alan, who gave her a dirty look.

"Can't you guys just get along?" Alivia sighed tiredly.

"No, I'll get you to taste Normo food." I decided, standing up. "I'm about to change your life!"

"What makes you think I want to change my life?" Alan questioned, rolling his eyes at me.

"Common sense?" I replied, looking at him. He thought about it. "Here; just try a bit of my cheese steak."

Alan physically pulled away as I held the food out to him. "What's it made of?" He asked.

"Cheese and steak." I answered, wondering how hard that was to figure out.

"And what are those made of?" He insisted.

"Uh, well…steak is the cooked flesh of a dead cow, and cheese is coagulated curds of milk which is the white fluids created by a cow's utters…" I wrinkled my nose in disgust, suddenly losing my appetite. "You know; I think I'm starting to understand why my sister's a vegetarian."

**Kaz's POV**

Dr. Wrath led us into the detention room. A couple of students – Rhys from Biology and Gus – were already inside. Rhys was fast asleep at his desk, his head buried in his arms, while Gus was writing on the white board. Unhappy with what he saw, Dr. Wrath gestured at three empty desks near Rhys, then went to confront Gus. Connie and I sat down in the two near the front, with Dani right behind me and next to Rhys.

"Gus, I told you to write 'I will not start fights' one hundred times!" The overweight man snapped at the shorter boy. Glancing past him, I could see the words 'I will not start fights 100 times' written on the white board in Gus' messy scrawl.

"I did!" He protested. "And for the record, I've only started fights ninety-seven times."

Choosing to ignore that, I turned to Skylar and Dani, already formulating a plan. "Alright, I'm going to go through Dr. Wrath's stuff for evidence, but I'm going to need you guys to create a distraction."

"How?" Skylar questioned. Dani smirked.

"I got this." She assured us, turning around to face the front. We followed suit, looking towards the front as Dr. Wrath adjusted a wall picture. After a moment, Dani got up, and suddenly, pushed Rhys's desk over, throwing the slumbering boy to the ground.

"Connie!" She exclaimed as Rhys looked around in confusion. "Stop picking on Rhys! If you have an issue, use your words!"

"Seriously?" The Calderan hissed, glaring daggers at Dani.

"Really? Now I have to walk all the way over there?" Dr. Wrath complained. "Fine!"

The girls started to argue about who had pushed Rhys out of the seat, though I couldn't tell how much of it was pretend and how much of it was fake, earning themselves Dr. Wrath's complete and undivided attention. I took advantage of the opportunity and snuck over to the teacher's desk. I was about to go through the drawers when I caught sight of a brown duffle bag that just had to be Dr. Wrath's.

The contents of the bag confirmed my theory. I found a large, dark brown coat, which on its own wasn't that suspicious, and a strange looking, handheld high-tech weapon. No way would any Normo be able to get his hands on something like this, let alone a teacher. So Mr. Patterson WAS Dr. Wrath!

"I can't believe it." I murmured, turning the weapon over in my hands.

"I know!" I looked up to see Gus standing a few feet away from me, staring at the whiteboard. While we'd all been focusing on Dr. Wrath, Gus had recreated a famous Da Vinci painting with nothing but a pack of everyday white board markers. Even I was impressed by the image, but didn't have time to comment on it. I had to tell Skylar and Dani what I'd found.

**Oliver's POV**

"Alan!" I called, walking into the ER, carrying a large pizza box in my hands, the sweet scent of the meat lover's floating through the air. I found him sitting at one of the nurse's computers in the ER. Conveniently, he had a plate of those nutrients squares sitting directly in front of him. "New plan! Pizza!" I announced, placing the box on the counter and opening it up to reveal the food inside. "If you try a slice of this, I'll try one of your…dry wall squares."

Alan nodded thoughtfully. "That seems fair."

I nodded and grabbed one of the nutrient squares off the plate. Looking at it suspiciously, for it felt just like construction material, I took a hesitant nibble off the corner. As expected, it was hard and flavorless, and tasted like hardened sand. I gagged at the taste, but true to my word, I forced myself to swallow the tiny bite before looking back at Alan. He looked at me eagerly, waiting for my opinion.

I forced a fake smile onto my face. "Mmm…" I hummed, despite myself. "You can just taste the lack of seasoning and the chalky texture and the hint of…" I pulled something from my lips, "…fur." Gross. "Now, it's your turn."

"Oh, I'm not eating that." Alan retorted, shaking his head. I stared at him.

"We made a deal; you said it was fair!" I exclaimed.

"I said 'it seems fair'!" Alan snapped back before trying to walk away. I followed him, confused.

"Dude, everybody likes pizza. Why are you being so stubborn?" I questioned.

"I heard about a superhero who ate Normo food once, and turned into an elderly Chinese woman." Alan responded, his tone worried. "Which was weird, because she used to be an elderly, Brazilian woman."

I rolled my eyes at that; I'd asked Alivia earlier about the nutrients squares and while she had told me the same story, she'd also told me that many, many superheroes eat Normo food without consequence. "That's just an urban legend." I assured Alan. He frowned, confused.

"What's an urban legend?" He questioned.

"It's a rumor that people say happened, but isn't actually true." I explained. "Like how there are tons of alligators living in the New York City sewers."

Of course, Lizardman would choose that time to walk into the ER, having just returned from his vacation to the Big Apple. Instead of his usual cloak, he was wearing a white t-shirt with the words 'I love NY sewers' on it in bold, black letters. He handed Alan a slip of paper, nodded to me in greeting, then continued on his way. "That was a bad example." I admitted as we watched him go.

**Kaz's POV**

Unfortunately, after Dani and Skylar's little performance, Dr. Wrath had separated the three of us. Both girls ended up sitting on either sides of the classroom, making it impossible for me to tell them what I'd learned without tipping off the supervillain to my discovery.

By the time that the bell had rung to signify the end of the detention, a whole two hours later, I was fed up. I should just confront him and get it over with. After all, what's the worst that can happen?

"Okay, detention's over." Dr. Wrath announced, staring at Gus as he dragged the whiteboard out of the classroom with him, intending to show his parents his masterpiece.

"Goodbye Mr. Patterson." Skylar replied as she got up, shouldering her bag. Dani walked up to me, her own backpack slung over her shoulder, but I stepped up to Dr. Wrath, smirking.

"Yeah, goodbye Mr. Patterson…or should I say, Dr. Wrath?" I slammed my hands down on his desk, staring the man straight in the eyes.

"Uh, no you shouldn't." Skylar told me, trying to pull me out of there before I got myself in over my head, but I wasn't going to leave until I proved that I was right about him being a supervillain.

Dr. Wrath just stared at me, a falsely confused look on his face. "What do you think, Mr. Patterson?" I asked, referring to Skylar's comment. "Or should I say, Dr. Wrath?"

"What are you talking about?" Dr. Wrath feigned innocence.

"I think you know very well what I am talking about, Mr. Patterson." I retorted, before adding, "or should I say, Dr. Wrath?"

"You've already said that three times, and I am no doctor, as my mother reminds me every day." He replied, still trying to pull off his act. I raised an eyebrow, deciding to try a different tactic.

"Oh yeah?" I mused, walking around the side of the desk and reaching for his bag. I lifted it onto the desk and began pulling out its contents. "Then, if you're not Dr. Wrath, how do you explain this shroud and this…" I looked at the silvery blaster thing again "…thing?"

"Now you listen to me, punk." Dr. Wrath stood up, looking at us fiercely. "You're getting yourselves involved in something very dangerous-"

He reached forward for the high-tech weapon, and I reacted instantly, pulling the trigger in my surprise. A blue blast exploded from the end, hitting him right in the chest. Instead of knocking him out or anything, though, it just froze him in place.

"I did it." I laughed in surprise before glancing at Dani. "See? I told you I could stop-"

"Agent Blaylock of the Superhero Secret Service Division?" Skylar interrupted me. She was looking at what appeared to be a shiny gold badge in one of those badge-wallet things. I frowned, taking the badge from her and looking it over.

"I didn't know there was a Superhero Secret Service Division." I said, confused.

"That's because it's a secret." Dr. Wrath, correction, Agent Blaylock growled, glaring at me angrily.

"That explains why you can walk through walls." Dani realized.

"Yes." Agent Blaylock confirmed it. "And I know the three of you are from Mighty Med. That's why I tried so hard not to give you detention, but you were just too annoying."

I chuckled, nodding at the statement. "To be fair, that's what I do."

"I tracked Dr. Wrath to this school. I found his shroud this morning, and that's my neural-incapacitator." Agent Blaylock explained.

"Wait, if you're not Dr. Wrath, then who is?" I questioned, placing the neural-incapacitator down on the desk next to me.

"I am." We all (with the exception of Agent Blaylock) spun in time to see Stephanie walk through the closed door, a cocky smirk on the blonde's face.

"Wow, I did not see that coming." I admitted. She wasted no time, walking towards us and swiping the neural-incapacitator off the desk and aiming it at us. In three quick blasts, Skylar, Dani, and I were frozen solid, none of us able to move a muscle except in our faces.

"I take it you didn't see that coming either, did you?" Dani questioned, our shoulders touching.

Stephanie, the REAL Dr. Wrath, set to work quickly, getting rid of Agent Blaylock by sliding his frozen body out the door.

"I can't believe you're Dr. Wrath." I commented. "Although, it does kinda make sense because you are the most negative person on the planet."

"But why would you hide in a high school?" Dani questioned, confused. "I don't see the point."

"Well, I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you." Dr. Wrath admitted. "So I'm totally going to tell you! My power comes from feeding on negative energy."

I smirked. "I know. I'm kinda an expert on Dr. Wrath."

Dani let out an annoyed groan, to my surprise. "Oh my gosh, would you stop flirting with her? She's the villain!"

"I wasn't flirting with her!" I retorted. Just because I wanted to boast about my extensive knowledge on a lesser-known villain in the superhero world didn't mean I was flirting.

"You totally were!" Dani snapped.

"Would you two shut up?" Skylar interrupted me before I could respond.

"As I was saying, high school is filled with drama and jealousy." Dr. Wrath began moving us around, pushing Skylar and Dani into positions so we were all back to back. "It's easy to create negative energy. But it's not enough. So, I'm building an ionic reactor in the chemistry lab."

"What good will that do?" I questioned.

"It will create limitless negativity in people all over the world!" Dr. Wrath proclaimed.

"What good will that do?" I repeated my question.

"Feeding off all that negativity will make me so powerful, I'll be the leader of a beautiful planet full of hate." She beamed proudly.

"Yeah, that makes sense." I admitted.

"Luckily, Kaz disabled Agent Blaylock before he could stop me. He's been hot on my trail." Oops. "And what's worse is he made me do, like, three sit-ups!"

"He made us do fifty!" I protested.

"You barely did one!" Dani and Skylar both shouted at the same time, effectively shutting me up.

"I'm going to go fire up the reactor." Dr. Wrath decided. "And then I'll deal with the three of you. But first, since you won't be completely immobile for much longer-" She raised her hands and a large, brightly glowing, gold chain shot out of the palm of her hand, wrapping itself around us tightly.

"Oh, and by the way? That chain totally clashes with your outfit." She sneered at Skylar before walking out without a second glance.

"Damn, these are tight." I wriggled as much as I could in an attempt to slide out of the massive chains.

"This is all your fault, Kaz!" Skylar accused, also struggling against the chains. "If you hadn't tried to be a hero, Agent Blaylock would have stopped her!"

"Ah!" I gasped as the chains grew tighter, squishing Skylar, Dani, and I together painfully.

"The chain is getting tighter!" Skylar exclaimed.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Dani retorted, squirming, her voice strained. "Alright, Mr. I-Know-Everything-About-Dr-Wrath, what's happening?"

"They must feed on negative energy just like Dr. Wrath." I told her. "Us being mad at each other is making it stronger. We need to create positive energy. Quick, say something nice about each other."

"Well, if it's the only way to save the Earth…then goodbye world." Skylar muttered as the chains got even tighter.

"Dani, you want to go first?" I tried. Dani just gave me an annoyed glare. As she didn't say anything, the chains didn't grow tighter, but it was obvious that I was going to have to be the bigger person here.

"Fine, I'll go first." I offered, trying to think. "Skylar, I love how you treat everyone at school with respect; you even say hello to the weird kids."

For a brief moment, the chains loosened, then Skylar had to add her two-sense. "Well, I'm not going to just ignore you."

And just like before, the chains tightened. "Skylar!" I groaned.

"Sorry." She apologized.

"Getting a little hard to breathe here." Dani added.

"Alright, uh…you guys have been really cool about letting me hang with you, Alivia, and Oliver. You haven't made me feel like an outcast or tagalong and I appreciate that. You've both really helped me try to fit in."

The chains loosened again. "Keep going." I encouraged them.

"Skylar, you're a really good friend to us. You're kind and warm and loyal, especially to my brother and even though it means we don't spend as much time together as we used to, I'm really glad he's got someone like you in his life." Dani told her. "And I think it's really cool how you adapted so well to another planet without your powers. The way you dealt with everything that's happened to you is amazing."

"I can breathe again." Skylar murmured in relief as the chains got a bit looser. It wouldn't be long before we could get out of them.

"Dani…" I trailed off, not sure of what I was going to say exactly, but the short-haired girl beat me to it.

"I love you." I heard her murmur. I twisted my neck so I could try to get a better look at her, but she kept her head straight. "You…you're my best friend in the world, and you've always been there for me and Ollie when we needed you. You're protective and always there and I love you for it."

Before I could say anything in response to that – although I had no idea what I was going to respond with – the chains shattered, the tiny shards hitting the ground at our feet.

"It worked!" I beamed at them. "Now, was it that hard to say nice things about each other?"

We all exchanged looks before replying. "Yes." "Absolutely." "It was awful."

"C'mon. We have a supervillain to stop." Dani reminded us, already heading towards the door.

**Xxx**

"She's working on the reactor." Skylar informed us, sneaking away from the window she'd been peeking through. Dr. Wrath was just through that door, preparing to turn everyone in the world against each other.

"Alright, here's the plan." I decided. "Skylar, you distract Stephanie. Dani and I will deactivate the reactor."

"You know how to do that?" Skylar checked, a skeptical look on her face. I nodded.

"Yeah, I read about it in a comic book. I just have to cut the wires. Or cross the wires. Something to do with the wires." I said. Dani chuckled lightly.

"The way I figure, if we smash it enough times, it'll stop working." She shrugged. Skylar nodded, then burst through the door.

"Hey Stephanie!" She called, getting Dr. Wrath's attention. "Or should I say, Dr. Wrath?"

"You should; it's my name." Dr. Wrath replied.

"When she says it, it works." I muttered, annoyed. Dani rolled her eyes.

"C'mon." She grabbed my wrist, pulling me with her into the science lab as Skylar lunged at Dr. Wrath, kicking her in her midsection. It soon became obvious that Dr. Wrath wasn't as skilled at hand-to-hand combat as Skylar was, as the Calderan managed to block every one of Dr. Wrath's blows, and quickly got a few kicks in.

"Cross the wires, or cut them?" I hissed as Dani and I slipped over to the ionic reactor.

"Let's try cutting them." Dani whispered as she flipped open a portion of the metal reactor. Underneath the panel she'd removed were at least thirty wires, all of them different shades of blue, green, white and red. "Here." She handed me a pair of cutters.

"Why are you giving these to me?" I hissed.

"Your plan, you have to do it." She insisted.

"Fine." I snatched the pair of cutters out of her hands and looked up in time to see Dr. Wrath shoot a ball of ice at Skylar. She did a backwards cartwheel to avoid the hit, then a flip in the air to avoid the second one coming her way. I quickly turned back to the wires, trying to figure out which one to cut.

"No, not that one!" Dani hissed at me as I was about to cut one of the red wires. "Never cut the red wire."

"Why?" I demanded, looking at her.

"I've seen the movies; cutting the red wire always ends in a massive explosion!" She whispered as she kept her eyes on Skylar as our friend fought Dr. Wrath. I sighed, then proceeded to cut a couple of the blue and white wires.

"Guys, heads up!" My head shot up at the sound of Skylar's voice, just as Dani pulled me down to the ground. A ghostly white face made entirely out of a mist-like ice zoomed right through where our heads had been. Instead of hitting us – thanks to Dani's quick thinking, neither of us were in harm's way – it hit a glass breaker, shattering it and sending the blue liquid inside spilling over the edge of the counter.

"Uh…" I looked up at the reactor, noticing how it was now glowing brightly. Did I do that? I hope not. "It's gonna blow!"

There wasn't time for us to escape the room, and we all knew that. So, in hopes of protecting ourselves from a massive explosion, Dani and I slid behind a nearby counter, keeping our heads down. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Skylar pushing herself into the corner of the room, trying to get as far from the blast zone as possible.

The room shook violently as waves of energy flew from the device. After a particularly powerful wave of energy shot past our heads, everything seemed to stop. Hesitantly, as I was unsure if the device had really stopped, I climbed to my feet. Dani and Skylar both followed suit, keeping their gazes locked on the reactor.

I held my breath, praying that Dani's idea had worked. "Now the whole world is filled with negative energy!" Dr. Wrath cackled. "And now that it is, I'm going to make you…some popcorn!"

Even Dr. Wrath looked shocked that those words had escaped her lips.

"Wait! Why don't I feel like destroying you?" She demanded, racing over to her ionic reactor to see what had gone wrong. "You reversed the charge! The reactor's producing positive ions! You ruined my plan! I could kiss you for this."

"Don't even think about it." Dani hissed, assuming that I would go for it. Skylar looked at me.

"What did you do?" She questioned. I smirked proudly.

"What I do best." I replied smugly.

"Randomly pushing and pulling things with no actual plan?" Skylar guessed.

"You're welcome." I told her.

"You fools!" Dr. Wrath accused, furious. "With all that positive energy, I have no power!"

Suddenly, Dr. Wrath's body began to morph. In the span of a second, it changed from a pretty, blond-haired teenage girl to a tall, pale, bald man in a black uniform. He (or she?) screamed as his (her?) body began to disintegrated, turning to ash right before our eyes.

As he was destroyed, red sparks started to fly towards the reactor, causing it to glowing brighter and more threateningly. I opened my mouth to say something, to suggest that we move because that thing looked ready to explode, but was cut off by the device actually exploding.

Thankfully, it was a small explosion, only powerful enough to make us duck our heads for fear of being hit with debris. "Wow." I looked around at the mess.

"So, everything goes back to normal?" Dani questioned, frowning.

"Except for Stephanie; she's a pile of ashes." Skylar gestured at the pile on the ground.

"You flirted with that." Dani pointed out.

"I did not flirt with her!" I proclaimed. Why was she focusing so much on that? I mean, c'mon! I glanced back down at the ashes. "I can't believe she's gone, though. Who's going to make me feel bad about myself now?"

"I'll pick up the slack." Skylar offered.

"Jordan would equally be up for the job." Dani added, a little smirk on her face.

**Oliver's POV**

"Face it, Oliver. You're never going to get him to eat it." Alivia informed, nibbling on a piece of pizza.

"I will so." I retorted.

"How?" Jaime questioned, cocking her head to the side. "You've already tried peer pressure, talking to him like a baby, and tackling him to the ground."

"Well, this is going to work for sure." I insisted as Mesmira, the superhero famous for her hypnotic abilities, walked towards us. "Alright, time to get this show on the road."

I grabbed what was left of the pizza off the counter and led Mesmira into the rec room, where Alan was using his telekinesis to do 'mental bench-presses'. Alivia and Jaime both followed us in, sitting down on the couch to watch this all unfold.

"Mesmira, thanks again for agreeing to hypnotize Alan for me." I told the hero as she pulled back her sleeves, revealing the eyeball in the palm of her hand. "And sorry, again, for poking you in the eye when we shook on the deal."

She waved me off, letting me know it was alright, then followed me over to Alan.

"Hey Alan!" I grinned, getting his attention. He paused, mid-bench-press, to look at me.

"Oh, hey Mesmira. How's it-" Mesmira focused her abilities on Alan and he fell into a trance, the barbell slipping from his telekinetic grasp.

"Got it!" Jaime called, zipping forward and catching the barbell in her gloved hands, not at all thrown off by the 150 pounds the bar was holding. She casually placed the bar back in place on the stand before turning back to look at Alan.

"Alan, you will taste a slice of pizza." I ordered, opening the box for him. He reached into the box, a dull expression on his face. He slowly brought the slice up to his mouth and took a large bite of it, chewing slowly.

"Thank you, Mesmira." I smiled at the hero as she deactivated her powers and walked away. Alan looked around in confusion.

"What happened? Why's this food in my mouth?" He questioned as he continued to chew.

"Don't panic." I told him cautiously.

"I won't. Believe me, I've woken up many times with food in my mouth." He admitted.

"Charming." Jaime commented sarcastically before skipping over to sit with Alivia.

"But this…" Alan swallowed his food. "This is the most amazing thing I've ever tasted."

I grinned. "See? I told you."

But I spoke too soon. Even as I said those words, Alan's head began to shrink and wrinkle, his hair going grey. Alivia, Jaime, and I all watched in horror as he turned into an old lady. "You're right." Alan agreed with me, oblivious to what was happening to him, "And there were no side effects at all. You've totally changed my life."

"You can say that again." Alivia agreed as she and Jaime got up, slowly backing up towards the door. Neither of them wanted to be in here when Alan discovered what had happened, and neither did I.

"Looks that way." I forced a smile onto my face as I followed the girls' leads, carefully stepping backwards.

"Can I have another piece?" Alan requested, stepping towards me.

"Um…I think you've had enough." I replied, fighting the urge to run. But as Alan got closer, I knew I had to get out of there. I scrambled out of the room as fast as I could, tearing down the hall until I reached the ER. Alivia and Jaime were already there, waiting for me.

"What did you do?" Alivia demanded, obviously torn between being shocked and amused.

**Kaz's POV**

"Check it out." I chuckled, sliding some test tubes onto my fingers. I wiggled them in front of Dani's face, earning a small laugh from the girl. "Witch fingers."

"Seriously?" Skylar looked at me, slightly amused. I shrugged, continued to wave them in front of my best friend's face until I heard someone else coming down the hall. I turned to see Agent Blaylock, finally released from his weapon's effects, storm into the room.

"Dr. Wrath." He called before any of us could say anything. He walked into the room, grabbing me by the shoulders. "I know you're a shapeshifter, and I know that's you."

"Uh, dude?" Dani looked past me at him before pointing at the pile of ash near her and Skylar's feet. "That's Dr. Wrath."

Agent Blaylock looked at the ashes, then back at me. "Then why were you acting like that?"

"Dude, if you leave a bunch of test tubes lying around, someone's going to make witch fingers." I replied, waving around my fingers to prove my point.

"I've been chasing Dr. Wrath for years now. Skylar Storm," he passed us and held his hand out to Skylar, "you're a real hero."

"Actually, you should be shaking Kaz and Dani's hands. They were the real heroes today." Skylar replied. Agent Blaylock turned to shake Dani's hand, then mine, but my fingers still had the test tubes on it.

"I'll…take these off." I decided when the handshake didn't turn out well. He nodded and walked over to the door, pulling a brush and dustpan out from behind it.

"And I'll take care of Dr. Wrath. I've been waiting years to do this." He began to brush the ashes into the pain. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be…surprising, because you're a pile of ashes."

And with that final note, he left me, Dani, and Skylar alone. "So…" Dani trailed off, looking at us.

"Listen, guys. I'm sorry for saying all those nice things about you." Skylar apologized sincerely.

"Same here." Dani agreed. "It was crazy back there, and a lot of that came out way too nice."

"You totally don't deserve all those complements." I agreed.

"Neither do you." Skylar agreed.

"Just acquaintances again?" Dani asked hopefully.

"Absolutely." Skylar nodded. I grinned in agreement.

"Okay, but seriously." Dani turned to Skylar, a guilty look on her face. "About this morning."

"Forget about it. Dr. Wrath was responsible for most of it anyway." Skylar told her, but Dani shook her head.

"Most of it, yeah, but…I was upset with Ollie and I was acting like a bratty little sister and I took it out on you and I'm sorry, okay?" She looked at her hopefully, and Skylar nodded.

"And I'm sorry for trying to rip your head off this morning." She added before looking at me. "And I'm sorry for getting on your back for acting like a hero. I guess I'm just feeling bad that I'm not one anymore."

"Oh, hey! You're still a hero." I assured her. She looked at me, a faint smile on her lips. "Not as much as I am though, but who is."

"Way to ruin the moment, Kaz." Skylar rolled her eyes.

"Guys!" We turned to see Gus walk into the room, his hand behind his back. To my surprise, Stephanie followed him in, a confused look on her face. "Look what I found in the janitor's office!" He pulled a toilet brush out from behind his back, an intrigued look in his eyes.

"Stephanie?" I questioned.

"Oh, yeah. Her too." Gus mentioned, still staring at his toilet brush.

"What's, like, going on?" Stephanie questioned.

"That's the real Stephanie." Dani said quietly, pulling both Skylar and I away for a moment. "I don't understand."

"Dr. Wrath must have shapeshifted into her form, then locked her in there." I realized.

"Are you okay?" Skylar demanded, walking back over to Stephanie. "How long were you in there?"

"I, like, don't remember. I don't really, like, remember anything." Stephanie replied. I glanced at Dani, then smirked, knowing that she would probably kill me for this later.

"So you don't remember that I'm your boyfriend?" I questioned.

Of course, Stephanie didn't buy it for a second. "Ew! Get away from me weirdo away from me!"

Still, it was totally worth it. Dani's face was frozen in a look of frustration, anger, and annoyance, much to my amusement.

"That's right. I'm your boyfriend." Gus told Stephanie. She nodded.

"I believe that." She replied as he put his arm around her and led her out of the room.

"I'm going to go too." Dani decided.

"Dee-" I began, but she shook her head.

"Mom's working again, and chances are Ollie hasn't had a chance to eat yet, so I'm gonna grab something for him and see if I can pick up some overtime. See ya."

She stalked out of the room and I winced. I expected her be annoyed, which would usually give me the chance to try and make her smile again, but not this upset. "Well, that was stupid of you." Skylar commented, grabbing a piece of plastic and beginning to brush the debris from the reactor into a nearby garbage can.

"Whatever." I retorted. She hummed, smirking.

"You should just ask her out." She told me, not even looking up. I stared at her, considering denying any feelings for Dani, but who was I kidding?

"I can't do that." I said instead.

"Why not?" Skylar questioned, confused. "You're both obviously interested in each other. I'm from a different planet and even I can tell."

"Because she's my best friend's sister and Oliver would kill me if I ever made a move on her." I pointed out. "Not to mention, we've been friends for so long it might screw things before things ever started happening and then I'd lose her completely."

"So, you're just going to settle for being her friend and nothing more?" She questioned skeptically.

"Yes." I retorted. She sighed and started to head for the door.

"You know, heroes take risks," She commented before walking out.

**Oliver's POV**

"Hey, food." I looked up from my paperwork to see Dani standing on the other side of the counter, a to-go cup, a container of oregano, and a container full of spaghetti sitting next to her. I smiled.

"Thanks." I grinned, taking the to-go cup and the spaghetti from her. I could smell the guava and strawberries in the drink, confirming my earlier guess. Dani pulled a sandwich from her bag for herself – goat cheese, lettuce and tomato – and her favorite water bottle and settled herself at the other side of the counter. "Hey, listen, about yesterday…"

"We both acted like children and we're both sorry, so let's move on?" My twin suggested. I nodded in agreement.

"Deal." I agreed, digging into my dinner. Despite the lack of hamburger meat in the spaghetti – not only did she refuse to eat meat, she refused to cook it either, which made the nights when it was her turn to cook dinner a little less than awesome – it was actually pretty good. "Hey, so, no Kaz?"

"Don't know, don't care." She replied.

"Oh, great, are you two fighting?" I sighed in exasperation. She shook her head.

"No, he just…he's being Kaz and he said something stupid and I'm a little annoyed." She replied.

"What, did he go overboard with his Dr. Wrath theory?" I guessed. She laughed lightly.

"Uh, this was something different, but you're absolutely right about him going overboard." She admitted. "Though, he was half-right."

"He was?" I questioned, scooping up a bit of the oregano and spreading it over my meal. She nodded.

"He was disguised as Stephanie, not Mr. Patterson." She explained, taking a bite of her sandwich. "But yeah, it was Dr. Wrath who was pissing everyone off at school."

"So what happened to Dr. Wrath?" I questioned, digging into my spaghetti. I was mid-chew when she smiled.

"I'll give you a hint; that's not oregano." She told me. I quickly spit out my food, much to her amusement.

"Brat." I accused.

"You love me anyway." She teased as Alan walked over to us. To my relief, his head had gone back to normal.

"Oliver!" He exclaimed, annoyed. "I can't believe you didn't tell me that I was an elderly, Chinese woman!"

Dani stopped, a bemused look on her face. I faked a laugh, trying to pretend like I had no idea what he was talking about. "You were? I didn't notice."

"I guess it doesn't matter. After a few hours, I changed back." He shrugged. "But it was worth it. That pizza was amazing!"

"Sounds like you guys had fun today." Dani commented, giving me a look that clearly said that she wanted an explanation for the elderly Chinese woman comment.

"Hey, is that a Normo sandwich?" Alan licked his lips. Dani glanced at him.

"Uh, yeah?" She replied.

"Can I have the rest?" Alan questioned, taking it from her before she could reply. She threw her hands up a bit, annoyed, then walked around the counter. I slid my hand underneath, pulling out what remained of the pizza and handed her the box.

"Veggie, no onion." I told her before she could ask the type, then I looked at Alan. "I don't think you should eat that."

"Why not?" He questioned. "Pizza caused the problem, not all Normo foods!" He took a bite of Dani's sandwich, chewed it, and swallowed. The effects were instant, but instead of his head turning into that of an old lady, it shrank to one fifth of its normal size. "See? I'm fine!" Alan exclaimed as Dani and I stared at him.

"We should go." Dani told me, slowly backing away with the pizza box in her hands. Abandoning my spaghetti – because who knows if my sister was kidding about that oregano – I followed her out.


	14. Copy Kaz

**Dani's POV**

"…So, Coach Rombough was saying that if we place high enough, the soccer team might be going to nationals this year." I was telling Kaz excitedly. We were back at Mighty Med, after a long day of school and, in my case, soccer practice. Ollie was trying to move a large device, one that looked suspiciously like a copy machine, to the other end of the room, so of course Kaz and I had decided that said device would be the perfect spot to sit.

"Sweet! That's awesome, Dee. So where-" Kaz broke off as the doors to the ER opened and Horace walked in. We both quickly slid off the machine and began to push it. "C'mon, Oliver! Put some muscle into it!"

My brother stopped and gave us both an annoyed look, so I chimed in. "Do we have to do everything, Ollie?"

"Dani, boys," Horace called us over. "I've been impressed with your contributions lately, and I'm prepared to promote you to the next secret level of Mighty Med."

"Awesome." Kaz said as we all grinned at each other. This was incredible!

"There you will behold miraculous wonders so secret that when I try to tell you, this happens: -"

Horace opened his mouth to speak, but the moment he did, loud, blaring alarms starting sounding off in our ears.

"Cool!" Ollie exclaimed after the alarms stopped. "And loud."

I nodded in agreement, wincing, "But first," Horace continued. "You're going to need to take an extensive practical exam where you'll have to demonstrate your skills."

"A test?" I repeated, feeling my heart drop. I never did well with tests.

"Dude, I'll show you my skills." Kaz said before trying some pretty lame break dancing moves. Horace just looked at him, then handed him a few fairly large books. "Oh, medical skills."

"Thank you, Horace, for this opportunity." Ollie took two books out of Kaz's hands, pushing one towards me. "And we will all study super hard and NOT go the Domain to goof off," he looked at Kaz and I pointedly, "and NOT ride anyone's coattails. Right guys?"

"Fine." I muttered. Kaz nodded reluctantly, then looked at Horace.

"Is there a website where a cartoon mouse explains all this to me?" He asked hopefully.

"Oh, come on, Kaz." Horace gave him a disappointed look. "Of course there is! But to access the website, you need the secret password, which is -"

Once again, the alarms started blaring, louder than before. I winced again, my hands flying up to cover my ears.

**Clyde's POV**

It had been months since my brother and I had discovered that those annoying kids – Kaz and the Short twins – were somehow connected to Mighty Med, but so far, we'd yet to find a way to get them to divulge information. Obviously, we couldn't outright ask them about it – that would be far too suspicious – but it had been our hope that one of them would slip up and say something, anything, that might help us find the secret hospital. Unfortunately, even though they clearly weren't the sharpest tools in the shed, they'd all been careful not to say a word about it since.

But alas, I did have a plan. After considering it for a long time, and spending hours trailing a fellow supervillain, I was finally ready to approach Wallace with my idea.

"Wallace!" I called him over, while the device I'd gotten. It was high-tech for sure, but looked fairly similar to a pair of binoculars, so if a customer happened to walk in right now, they wouldn't give the device a second glance.

"Hey, Cl- are those what I think they are?" Wallace demanded, staring at the device.

"It's a bi-optical image replicator." I announced. His face fell, disappointed.

"Oh, then it's not what I thought it was." He grumbled. "But I guess a villainous cloning device makes more sense than bird-watching binoculars."

"I borrowed it from Sewer Rat. And by borrowed, I mean stole." I explained smugly. "With this, we can finally find our way into Mighty Med." I opened the cash register next to me and pulled out the silver, broken half-circle that was lying in one of the money columns. "And then, we can locate the other half of the Diad of Nebulan. Then with the other half that we already have, we can restore the powers that Horace Diaz stole from us!"

"Sounds great." Wallace replied sarcastically, clearly not interested.

"Hey, no moping!" I snapped as I walked around the counter. "I promised you a set of bird watching binoculars for Valentine's Day and you will get them on Valentine's Day!"

"But I'll miss woodpecker season!" He protested.

"Wallace!" He really needed to get his head in the game. "This device will turn me into an exact replica of Kaz. Then one of the twins will just lead me into Mighty Med."

Wallace sighed. "So how does this non-woodpecker finding device work?"

"Earlier today, I used this device to record Kaz's voice and image." I explained, placing the device on the counter and angling it towards me. I quickly took off my glasses, sliding them into my pocket, and readied myself. "Now I just have to wait for the self-timer to go off and…" I waited for a few long moments, but nothing happened. But then, just as I was about to double check that the device was working, there was a flash, and suddenly, I felt a lot shorter than I used to be. "Did it work?" I demanded, immediately reaching for the mirror I'd left on the counter. I held it in front of my face, smirking when I recognized Kaz's reflection. "It worked. I look terrible, but it worked."

I glanced back at Wallace, but to my surprise, he still looked upset. "Now what's wrong?" I demanded.

"To be honest, I was kinda hoping you would turn into a woodpecker." He admitted. I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at him. As usual, only one of us were taking this seriously.

**Dani's POV**

"Alright, what's code 3C-24 used for?" Ollie questioned, glancing at me as we walked through the mall.

"Um…" I trailed off, trying to think. 3C codes usually had to do with impalements of some kind, but I couldn't remember what the 24 was for. "Arrow impaled in the rib cage?"

"Poisoned arrow impaled in the rib cage." My brother corrected, not unkindly.

"I'm totally gonna fail this." I complained.

"No, you're not." Ollie brushed my concerns away, but I was hardly reassured.

"Yes I am. I see a test paper and suddenly the only thought in my head is 'when is class over?'." I stressed. "I can never remember anything when it comes to tests and you know it."

"Horace said it was a practical exam." He reminded me. "That means no papers. Just us, Horace, and a patient. Trust me, Dee, you're not the one I'm worried about failing."

"Kaz promised he wouldn't flake on us. He knows how important this." I defended him. Ollie nodded.

"Doesn't mean he'll study." He told me, reaching ahead of me to hold the open the door to the Domain. We spotted Kaz and Wallace inside, talking to each other quietly. Surprisingly, there was no sign of Clyde, Wallace's twin brother. "Kaz, there you are! What are you doing here?"

"What? He's always here!" Wallace exclaimed.

"Much more than Clyde would like." Kaz added.

"Not that he would know what Clyde would like. I mean, how would he?" Wallace commented.

"I mean, it's not like I'm Clyde pretending to be me." Kaz chuckled as Wallace walked away. I raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment on it. Was he trying to be funny and failing, or, like, what?

"I can't believe that after our discussion at work yesterday and what you promised," Ollie stressed that last word, trying to guilt-trip Kaz, "you'd come here instead!"

"Uh, I'm sorry." Kaz apologized. "I shouldn't have come here instead. Especially after what I promised, and the discussion we had yesterday. At work."

I looked at him suspiciously, crossing my arms. "You have no idea why he's upset, do you?" I questioned. Kaz hesitated, and I got my answer. I turned to my brother. "I take back what I said earlier about him not flaking on us. Clearly, I was mistaken."

"I know why you're upset!" Kaz insisted.

"Oh yeah?" Ollie challenged, waiting for Kaz to explain. The other boy began to sweat, panicking slightly.

"I stole your girlfri…ied potato recipe…eanut butter sand…castle making trophy?" He said, trying to guess what he did wrong by the looks on our faces. I just looked at him, bemused, while Ollie had had enough.

"You know what? Forget you. We're going to…" He glanced past Kaz at Wallace, "… to you know where to study for the test by ourselves. You may not care about learning the secrets of MEH-MEH-MEH-MEH, but I do."

With that, Ollie turned around and walked out of the store. I gave Kaz a guilty look.

"Sorry, I'd stay and hang, but I really hate those alarms." I told him apologetically before racing after my brother.

**Clyde's POV**

I followed Dani and Oliver for almost three blocks, listening to them argue the entire time about whose turn it was to cook dinner. Eventually, though, they walked into a regular, Normo hospital down on fourth. I quickly followed them inside, taking care to not be seen.

"I cooked last night! It's your turn!" Dani was pointing out as she and Oliver walked through an ordinary door to a janitor's closet. I waited for them to come out, but they never did, so I called Wallace.

"Wallace?" I hissed into the phone when I heard him pick up.

" _Clyde."_  He responded immediately.

"Oliver and Dani just went into the janitor's closet." I informed him.

" _So follow them!"_  He told me. I tried the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. I looked back at the door, hoping to see shadows of them moving around in there, but instead I saw a large bright blue light glow for a moment. The light died away after a moment, though, and I heard an audible click come from the door handle.

" _Wait, I just thought of something,"_  Wallace said as I opened the now un-locked janitor's closet. At first glance, it looked like an everyday janitorial closet – extra toilet paper, cleaning supplies, the whole deal. But I knew there had to be something in here, something that would produce that glow.  _"What happens if you run into the real Kaz? How do you explain that?"_

"I am an evil genius!" I rolled my eyes. "You don't think I thought of that?"

" _You didn't think of that, did you?"_  Wallace guessed.

"No I didn't. I'm so stupid sometimes!" I admitted, cursing myself for not considering the possibility earlier. Both Wallace and I suspected that the kids spent a fair bit of time here – from what we knew about them, they each had their reasons for not wanting to hang out at their homes, and the Domain was their favorite place, so it made sense that whenever they weren't at our shop or school, they were likely at Mighty Med – so it was not just a possibility, but it was likely that I could run into Kaz here. "You know what? I'll just get in and out so fast that he won't even see me."

I spoke too soon. Suddenly, the wall in front of me split open and I nearly stumbled straight into Kaz. Luckily, and surprisingly, he was too busy reading a large book to notice me. In fact, he walked right past me with his nose buried in the book, heading right out of the janitor's closet.

Deciding not to question it, I stepped out of the janitor's closet into what looked like a hospital ER. I grinned to myself, glad that my idea to follow Dani and Oliver had worked out. I was in Mighty Med! I could see many of the heroes from my past standing around, and my excitement grew. I couldn't wait to get the other half of the Diad so I could destroy them. Except for Blue Tornado. I liked his boots, so him I would just torture.

"I can't believe I'm finally in Mighty Med!" I said to Wallace, who was still listening in on the phone.

"Just play it cool." My other half advised. I nodded.

"Right. Cool. Got it." I agreed. I walked past a walking lizard and a young woman in a lab coat. "Hello lizard-person and doctor-woman. It's me, Kaz! I totally belong here."

I looked around to see if anyone had bought that, and immediately caught sight of Horace Diaz. The man was fiddling with his half of the Diad of Nebulan, the mystical item hanging from a string around his neck like a necklace. He tucked it inside her shit, buttoning it back up.

"It's Diaz!" I hissed to Wallace. "He's got the Diad of Nebulan hanging around his neck!"

"Kaz, stop following me!" Oliver exclaimed, walking up to me just then. Dani was just behind him, standing next to the superhero sidekick Geminus. "I'm not going to help you study for this test. If you fail, that's your problem, not mine."

"Kids." Diaz walked up to us, motioning for Dani to come over. "I forgot to mention. Since I hired the three of you as a team, if anyone of you fails, it's your problem, not mine." Both Dani and Oliver opened their mouths to protest, but Diaz continued before they could. "Oh, and if you fail, you'll be cubed. Good talk!"

"What?" Dani demanded, staring at him.

"Well, if your skills don't rise to the next level, we'll have no use for you." Diaz explained. "And since you know all about Mighty Med…" He made the motions of crushing something into a box with his hands, smiled at us, then walked away.

"Well, that blows." I commented, trying to stay in character. Dani shot me a you-are-such-an-idiot look while Oliver groaned loudly. He then gestured down a random hallway.

"Go, now." He ordered, his expression serious.

**Dani's POV**

Right after Horace told us the news about how if we didn't all pass the test, we'd all be cubed, Ollie freaked out. Not like in the usual way, with panicking and scrambling to find a way out, but in the way where he went overboard trying to make sure that everything went one hundred percent smoothly and according to plan. This, of course, meant locking the three of us in the rec room with a life-sized manikin on a gurney. Heck, he even tied the two doors together with a large piece of rope so that we couldn't leave, nor could anyone come in and distract us.

"Okay, here's the plan." My brother told us. "Until you two prove to me that you're ready to pass this test, no one is leaving this room."

"I have a better plan: I leave this room." Kaz responded, heading for the door.

"Kaz, wait." I stopped him. "This is important. If we pass this test, then we'll learn the secrets of MEH-MEH-MEH-MEH."

"And also, we won't be cubed!" Ollie added. "Now, show me procedure 33A."

Kaz smirked. "Sure, no problem."

**Xxx**

"This is not procedure 33A." I growled, wiggling in an attempt to escape. Completely ignoring the dummy Ollie had set up, Kaz had taken the rope from the door and proceeded to tie both me and my brother up so that we were stuck back to back, out hands tied together so tightly we could barely feel them. He'd even taken the initiative to tie even our feet together.

"What? Are you sure?" Kaz questioned, eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Procedure 33A is administrating eye drops." Ollie pointed out.

"Oh. I thought it meant tie you up." Kaz hummed. "I should probably go study some more."

"Kaz!" I called, but it was too late; he was already out the door and long gone. "What the hell is wrong with him today?"

"I know right?" Ollie agreed, pulling at the ropes.

**Clyde's POV**

Once I had managed to secure Dani and Oliver in another room, I headed into the main part of Mighty Med, intent on achieving my goal. I had to get that Diad of Nebulan from Horace Diaz, and I wouldn't let anything stop me.

I snuck up behind Diaz as he sat in front of one of the counters, being careful not to make any noise. If I could just slip that necklace off his neck, I could race out of here before he could stop me.

"Kaz." I froze, my hands inches away from his neck, "If you're sneaking up behind me to scare me, good. I've got a terrible case of the hiccups."

Great, a convenient excuse for my actions. That worked out well.

"Right, that's exactly what I'm doing." I lied. "Boo."

"AH!" He jumped out of his seat, legitimately startled by my sudden 'boo'. He paused for a moment, and a smile bloomed on his face. "It worked! Well done, Kaz! Now, since you're here, let's start your practical exam, shall we?"

"Huh?" I stared at him, confused, until I remembered what Oliver and Dani had been going on about. "Oh, right. The test."

"Yes, so…" Diaz looked down at a clipboard, reading off of it. "First question: how do you treat a superhero whose foot has been impaled with a Borneon Sword?"

I paused, trying to think of a way to twist this into my favor. "First, you remove any jewelry from around the neck."

Before he could respond, I reached around him to pull off the necklace with the Diad on it. "Stop it! What are you doing?" He demanded, pushing me off.

"Saving your life! Don't you die on me!" I snapped before trying once more. Once again, however, Diaz pushed me away.

"What is going on?" He demanded, more angry than confused. "Wait, are you trying to steal my necklace?"

"What? You mean your half of this all-powerful amulet which, when combined with its other half, can create a villain of unmatched force and power?" I laughed nervously. "I don't even know what that is!"

Judging by the look on Diaz's face, my words did not reassure him. "C'mon, it's me! Kaz! You don't trust me? Why would I try to steal it?"

He relaxed and I took advantage of the opportunity, lunging at him in hopes of ripping the necklace off of him. "Guards!" He shouted, struggling to push me away from him. I glanced behind me, hearing two guards teleport into the room behind me. "Get him!" He cried as I bolted down the nearest hallway, my plan a failure. "He's a traitor!"

**Dani's POV**

"Are you sure you can't move anymore?" Oliver muttered, still struggling against the ropes. We figured that if we struggled enough, we might be able to stretch the ropes enough to escape (Because I mean, it was Kaz. The dude could barely tie his shoes, let alone keep Oliver and I tied together for more than a few minutes) but apparently, Kaz's ability to tie a knot had improved a lot since we last checked, because neither of us could get loose in the slightest.

Suddenly, I heard the doors behind me swing open. I craned my neck, trying to get a better view of who it was, but Ollie's big head was in the way. "Skylar!" My brother's sigh of relief let me know who'd come to our rescue. "Thank goodness you're here!"

"Hey guys, do you have a sec?" Skylar questioned. I raised an eyebrow at that. "I need to talk to you about something really important."

"We're kinda tied up right now." I told her, stating the obvious. Skylar gave me a look.

"Stop making everything about you." She commented in response before sitting down and continuing. "Anyway, I don't want to embarrass anyone by using names, but there's a guy I know and see all the time who has a crush on me, and I think you need to tell him how I feel."

I felt Ollie still next to me, his entire frame tense. "I couldn't agree more." He told her when he finally recovered from his surprise. "You should definitely tell him. You know the old saying: honesty is the best policy."

"But I don't feel the same way about him." Skylar continued. "In fact, I find him kind of repulsive."

"Then don't tell him." I intervened quickly. I mean, it was fairly obvious that she was talking about Oliver – I couldn't think of anyone else I knew that had a crush on her – and I guess he kinda knew now that she wasn't interested, but a conversation like this had to hurt a hell of a lot less than if she outright rejected him, right? "Honesty is bad. Never be honest. You know the old saying: honesty is the worst policy."

"Then how do I let him down without hurting his feelings?" She questioned, clearly troubled by her situation.

"Why let him down? Maybe, if you actually go out with him, you'll find him less repulsive." I suggested.

"Yeah. Just give it a few years. Really, really kick the tires." Ollie agreed.

"I don't think I could ever go out with Alan." Skylar replied, disgust in her voice.

"Alan?" Ollie and I repeated at the same time. She was talking about Alan?

"Yes, although, I would certainly enjoy kicking him in the tires." She mused.

"Alan has a crush on you?" Ollie laughed. I, too, was having trouble not laughing at this. "Then tell him the truth, because you know the old saying: honesty is the best and worst, but mostly best, policy."

"Now could you please untie us?" I requested.

"Not yet." Skylar replied, to my surprise. "I mean, how often do you get a truly captive audience?"

"Seriously?" I muttered, more to Ollie than to her. Skylar continued as if I'd never said anything at all.

"So, I'm thinking about changing my hair. What do you think? Bangs or no bangs?" My goodness, we were never going to get out of here!

**Clyde's POV**

I spent an hour hiding out in a storage closet, hoping for a chance to escape. I could see the entrance to Mighty Med through the grate on the doors, and it wasn't far, but guards were constantly patrolling the ER.

But then I got lucky – Kaz, the real Kaz, walked through the door, still engrossed by his book. The guards saw him immediately, grabbing him by the arms and restraining him before he knew what was happening.

"Hey! What gives?" He demanded, dropping his book and trying to pull away from the guards.

"Guards! Take him away and turn him into a cube!" Diaz ordered, much to Kaz's confusion.

"A cube? What are you talking about?" He demanded.

"You know perfectly well what I am talking about!" Diaz spat. "A cube is a three-dimensional solid polyhedron with six square faces of equal sizes, you traitor!"

"What? I'm not a traitor!" He protested. "But I am a snitch. You know Gerome from accounting? He keeps stealing pencils."

"Enough! You disgust me. After all I've done for you, you let me down like this?" Diaz wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Don't even look at me!"

Apparently, the guards believed that he was talking to them, and they looked away. Kaz took advantage of their momentary inattentiveness, and bolted from their arms, running away from them as fast as his legs would carry him.

Diaz sent the guards after him, but stayed in the ER himself. Drat! I would be stuck here forever if he didn't leave!

**Dani's POV**

"Ouch." I hissed, rubbing my sore wrists. Those ropes had been tight, and left marks on both me and Ollie's wrists, and although I hadn't checked, I could feel that my ankles were probably in a similar condition. Thankfully, Skylar had decided to untie us before the robes could rub too much more against our raw skin. "I can't believe Kaz would tie us up like that."

"I can't believe he bailed on us." Ollie cried. "Because he didn't study, Horace is going to turn us into three-dimensional solid polyhedrons with six square faces of equal sizes!"

"Oh, BTW, I changed my mind. Go with the bangs." I suggested before turning to Ollie. "Now, we need to find Kaz."

"Agreed." Ollie nodded and followed me out into the hallway. As we neared the ER, we could see a number of the staff and superheroes had gathered around the front. "Horace, what's going on…"

Pushing through the crowd, we were shocked to see two guards holding Kaz tightly, our best violently struggling to escape but to no avail.

"Kaz, what-" I started towards him, but my brother stopped me before I could. "What is going on here?"

"I'm having Kaz turned into a paperweight." Horace replied, his tone dark as two other guards wheeled a large device into the room. It was fairly big, about the size of a school locker, with many colorful buttons on it. "They were just cleaning out Gerome from accounting. Teach him to steal pencils!"

"You're doing this because he failed the test? Does that mean we're next?" Ollie worried.

"Can't we do a make-up test?" I pleaded with Horace.

"Your make-up is fine, very natural." Horace assured me, despite the complete lack of make-up on my face. "And this isn't because of the exam, this is because he gave me no choice." He turned to address Kaz. "As fond as I've grown of you, you've betrayed me, and even worse, you've betrayed Mighty Med. So I have to have you cubed."

The guard on the left sighed and moved to enter the tube part of device. "Not you, Marcel!"

The other guard chuckled at his partner's idiocy, then pushed Kaz into the tube. "Kaz would never betray Mighty Med!" Ollie protested. "He's the most loyal person I know!"

"Yeah!" Kaz agreed, poking his head out of the device. "So don't cube me, cube one of them!"

"Okay, maybe loyal isn't the right word, but what Ollie says is true. He would never betray Mighty Med." I pleaded with him. "He's no traitor!"

"We're begging you." Ollie added. "Don't cube him. There's got to be a different way."

Horace looked at us for a long moment, then sighed. "Alright." He said softly, then straightened up. "If you're going to whine about it." He picked up a small, handheld device off the counter. "Then I guess I'm just going to have to erase his memory and banish him from Mighty Med forever."

"What?" "No!" Ollie and I both leapt at Horace, trying to stop him, but we were a second too late. Horace flashed Kaz in the face with the device before we could stop him. Our best friend went white, slumping against the walls of the cubing device with a blank expression on his face.

"Kaz, Kaz!" Ollie rushed at him as he stumbled out of the device. "Kaz, it's me."

"Me…me…" Kaz frowned, totally confused. "Nope, not ringing any bells. Also, what's a bell?"

"Kaz, please tell me you're screwing with us." I pleaded with him. I half-expected him to give me a sly grin and admit to his joke. Unfortunately, he just frowned at me.

"What's a Kaz?" He questioned to my dismay.

"Throw him out!" Horace exclaimed. The guards did as they were told, pushing a very baffled Kaz out the door, Horace following shortly behind him.

I slowly turned around, not just to face my brother, but also so that I would not have to watch them kick Kaz out. "He…he didn't recognize us. At all." My voice was tiny, a lump in my throat. Just like that, in a matter of seconds, our entire friendship, every moment, had been erased from his memory as if we didn't exist. Gone.  _Don't cry._  I told myself.  _Don't freaking cry._

Ollie looked like he wanted to as well. "I can't believe he's gone. He has no memory of our friendship."

"I know." I gulped.

"But without him, there's no 'us'." Ollie protested, shaking his head. "No guts, no glory. No pain, no gain. No shirt, no service." He chuckled sadly. "Remember all those times when he refused to wear a shirt and we got kicked out of a restaurant or café?"

But I was no longer listening. My attention was completely focused on the black haired boy walking towards us: Kaz. He looked confused, sure, but there was recognition in his gaze when he met mine, and that was enough for me.

"Kaz!" I pushed past my brother and threw myself at my best friend, hugging him tightly as if he would disappear.

"Hi." He chuckled in amusement, hugging me back. After a moment, he realized that I had no intention of letting go. "Hey, Dee, what's wrong?"

"Kaz, you're…" Ollie trailed off, clearly as shocked as I was. "You're here."

"Yeah. Hey, could someone explain to me why Horace decided to sick the guards on me? I'm totally wearing a shirt!" He exclaimed, still hugging me with one hand, the other one gesturing towards his clothes. I took a deep, steadying breath, tightening my hug for a brief second before pulling away altogether, reassured that he wasn't going to just forget us again.

"Kaz, you know us! You know us!" Ollie proclaimed, hugging Kaz the moment I stepped away.

"Of course I know you!" Kaz chuckled, giving us a confused look. "You're my best friends, Dani who really likes hugs when she's upset and Oliver who always says things twice when he's excited."

"That's right, that's right! I do, I do!" Ollie agreed, his entire face lit up with joy.

"What are you doing here?" We turned to see Horace staring at Kaz, as shocked as Ollie and I were. "And didn't I just erase your memory?"

"Wait." Ollie paused, confused. "You just erased Kaz's memory and threw him out, yet he's right here and he remembers everything. A villain must have impersonated Kaz to get access to Mighty Med!"

"Well, that would explain why 'Kaz' would try to steal my all powerful amulet." Horace realized. "And he used the word 'amulet'. That's way beyond his vocabulary."

Kaz scoffed. "I have bad vocabulary?" He questioned, amused. "The word is pronounced omelet."

I sighed. "He's definitely Kaz, no question about it."

"So that was a villain impersonating you." Horace nodded. I frowned.

"But who?" I asked, trying to think. While most of the superhero (and supervillain) world knew that three Normos were working at Mighty Med, there were very few that actually knew our names, let alone what we looked like or where to find us. So who could have been behind this?

"Villains know who I am?" Kaz asked, following the same train of thought as I was. "That's so…AWESOME!"

"No one has any use for the Diad of Nebulan other than Catastrophe." Horace informed us. "He was one of the most powerful villains to ever terrorize the galaxy. But he was defeated years ago and split into two separate beings, each of them pathetic and nearly powerless."

"The two being must still be alive somewhere." Ollie realized.

"Not just somewhere; they have to be in Philadelphia." I pointed out. "Otherwise, how would they know what Kaz looks like to impersonate him?"

"There's over 1.5 million people in Philadelphia, Dee." My brother pointed out. "That doesn't narrow it down all that much."

"I'll have Geminus look into this for you." Horace decided. "As your official bodyguard, she should be checking into threats like this anyway. But for now, are you three ready to take your test?"

We all exchanged looks, but really, how much more prepared could we get?

**Xxx**

"Now, the final test question." Horace declared, walking us over to the Crusher. He hadn't been waiting long, just long enough for Horace to diagnose his condition and convince him to be part of our test, so we had no idea what the question would be on. "What do you do when a hero is infested with Zandorian parasites?"

He lifted the towel covering the Crusher's stomach, and the sight of it made my stomach turn. The skin had bubbled, with long, white blobs moving under the skin.

"I'm gonna puke." Ollie announced, the boys faring as well as I was.

"Correct!" Horace said gleefully, dropping the towel so that it covered up the infection. "Vomit is indeed the cure for Zandorian parasites!"

"Really?" I questioned, surprised.

"Congratulations!" Horace exclaimed. "You've all passed!"

"Yes!" We gave each other high-fives, both thrilled and relieved at his words.

"You will no longer be Normos!" Horace announced, walking past us towards the counter. We all stopped, exchanging looks of disbelief. Were we getting powers? Horace pulled three gold name tags out from a drawer. "I'm giving you titles! You are now Chief Executive Normos!"

Okay, not as cool as powers, but still pretty cool. "Do we get a raise?" Ollie asked.

"Nope."

"Do we get a bonus?" Kaz inquired hopefully.

"Nope."

"Do we get more vacation days?" I added.

"Nope." Once again, Horace shot the idea down. "But, you do get to see this."

Horace led us down the hall to a set of doors that had been locked since we'd come here. He pulled a golden key out of his pocket, and slowly unlocked it. "Voila!" He announced, pushing open the doors.

Inside, a glowing light revealed to us the secrets of Mighty Med, from the time it began to medical mysteries beyond the comprehension of any Normo. It was an experience that could never be forgotten, making everything that had happened today completely worth it.


	15. Free Wi-Fi

**Kaz's POV**

"Hey guys." I greeted, walking into the ER. Dani and Oliver were both sitting at the main counter in the ER, the latter working on his laptop, and the former engrossed in a book, just like they'd been the last time I'd come in here, over an hour ago. Well, whatever they were doing, they needed a break from it, and I was going to give them one.

"Dear diary." I said, just loud enough to get both of their attentions, as I leaned over behind Oliver. "I wish I could be more like Kaz. He does such cool things, like pretending to be the make-believe voice of my diary."

Dani chucked lightly at that, closing her book, while Oliver just turned around with a tired look on his face. "Hey, that sounds nothing like my make-believe diary voice. It's British."

"Uh, guys? As much as I enjoy making fun of Ollie's diary voice, I'm kinda studying." Dani interrupted us. I stared at her. "Yes, I know. I actually did say that."

"You, studying?" I repeated. "Is the world ending?"

"No, we just have a big test tomorrow. One that's worth thirty percent of our final grade. You fail that and you're probably gonna fail the class." Dani reminded. I just stared at her, confused. "We had to read Animal Farm for class?"

"I've been working on my study guide all night." Oliver added, trying to help me remember. Oh crap. I remember when Mrs. Pearson handed us those books. Dani had dug right into it, as she had thought it would be a fun story about farm animals (she later complained about how it was nothing like she expected), Oliver had packed his away for later, and I think I ended up shoving it somewhere in my locker and hadn't thought about it since. Crap.

"Hey, uh, could I get a copy of your study guide?" I asked hopefully, looking at Oliver. "I totally read the book, I just want to brush up on the details."

"No, you can't have a copy of my study guide, because you need to stop cheating and do the work." Oliver retorted. I looked at him, offended.

"Hey, I am going to do the work!" I insisted. "Do you have any idea how much effort it takes to write a twenty-page study guide on the palm of my hand?"

"No, Kaz." Oliver refused to budge on the matter.

"You're giving Dani a copy!" I exclaimed, almost certain of it. Oliver never refused to give his sister extra help.

"Because she actually read the book. Twice!" Oliver insisted.

"Not to mention, if I fail another test, Mom's gonna make Ollie start tutoring me, and neither of us want that." Dani added as the ER doors swung open and Benny pushed Titanio, a Normo turned superhero thanks to his robotic weaponized suit, in on a gurney. Titanio was wearing his usual apparel – his blue, black, and silver robotic suit – and didn't actually appear to be hurt.

"Hey, can one of you guys help me?" The nurse requested. "Titanio here needs a software upgrade for exo-suit."

"Just don't do a system delete." Titanio requested. "I have, like, thirteen years of email stored in here."

"Not it." Dani said immediately before any of us could reply. We both looked at her. "I can barely work a laptop. You really want me near his exo-suit?"

"Good point." Oliver agreed, obviously remembering the time Dani accidently deleted his entire system while trying to Google a recipe for vegetarian tacos. He looked at me pointedly. "I'll go help Benny. You read Animal Farm."

To emphasize his point, he handed me his copy of the book, then left to go help Benny. I sighed, really not wanting to have to read the book. "Dee?"

"I'm going to go see what Skylar's up to." She announced, closing her book and sliding it into her backpack. She looked over her shoulder at Oliver, who was busy with Benny and Titanio, then reached into a drawer under the counter and pulled out a memory stick.

"I think it's one of Ollie's extras." She told me, tossing it to me. She started to walk away, then paused. "He changed his password, by the way. It's now DaniStopUsingMyLaptop, no spaces."

"Thanks Dee." I smiled at her girl, who grinned back before disappeared down the hall. I quickly sat down at Oliver's chair, slid the memory stick into the drive, and typed in Oliver's password. His background, a picture of me, Alivia, Dani, Skylar, and himself, appeared instantly, along with a number of files and documents.

" _Hello, computer user."_  An image of a scrawny guy in a black outfit, complete with a bullet-proof vest, appeared on the screen.  _"I am your set-up wizard. Can I help you with anything?"_

"No thanks." I replied, even though I knew he couldn't hear me. "I'm pretty well-versed in how to copy other people's work."

I exited the set-up wizard and tried to copy the document, but to my surprise, it refused to copy. Heck, it wouldn't even let me open the document. "That's weird."

" _To copy a file, hit control-alt-F8."_  The set-up wizard reappeared, coming to my rescue.

"Alright." I muttered, pressing the buttons. To my surprise, not only did the file not copy, but the screen went black for a moment. A beam of light flew from the screen, shooting something from it. The light hit the ground to my left, and a small figure began to grow, until I recognized the now life-size set-up wizard standing in front of me. The man was smirking to himself, clearly pleased with how that all worked out.

"How did you do that?" I demanded, confused. Who was this guy?

"I have the ability to turn molecular structures into their binary counterparts ad transfer them into any digital equipment." He replied, turning around to face me. I frowned, having no idea what he just said.

"Huh?" I blinked in confusion.

"I can do this." He raised his hand and my vision went completely white for a moment. When the light disappeared, I looked around in confusion. It looked like I was in a small room, the walls plastered with that photo Oliver used as his background. There were a few floating blocks next to me, shaped like massive folders, along with a couple of equally large pieces of paper. There was a floating arrow in front of me, somewhat obscuring my view. And believe me, it was a crazy view. It was like I was looking out a window, right into Mighty Med, except everything was ten times the size it should have been. With a start, I realized he must have somehow sent me inside my best friend's computer.

"Hey!" I protested, but he either couldn't hear me, or wasn't listening. He just lowered the lid of the laptop, making the entire room darken until I couldn't see anything at all.

**Dani's POV**

"How do I back-up?" Skylar demanded in frustration, hitting the buttons on her Wii remote angrily. I chuckled lightly.

"1. Press the 1 button." I replied as my race cart flew past her, speeding into 3rd place. Ever since Skylar had begun to live in the Normo world, almost a year ago, Kaz, Ollie, and I had taken it upon ourselves to educate in her in Normo culture. Kaz had taken care of personal relationships and food (the first was a punishment for messing with her on her first week of being a Normo and he had volunteered for the latter, claiming that Ollie and I ate too healthy and that she needed to learn to eat like a 'real Normo'), I took care of girly-stuff (bleh! The only reason I agreed was because it was an excuse to get rid of all the make-up and dressed my mom kept insisting that I should own) and Normo pastimes (you know, sports, video games, books, art, and other such things), and Ollie handled pretty much everything else. Anyway, today's lesson was Mario Kart, mainly because it was the only video game we had here that I could teach her in a span of an hour, since I only had that much time for my break.

"Hey Horace, you wanna play? I'm kicking ass today." I called as my boss walked into the rec room, a clipboard in his hands. Even as I said this, I managed to slide into 2nd, the only racer ahead of my being freaking Yoshi.

"No thanks. I'm hiding from Alan." He admitted. Just as he said that, the doors behind him opened up and the sweater-vest loving teenager walked into purposefully.

"Well, you're doing a terrible job at it." Skylar commented dryly as the race ended.

"Uncle Horace! You promised!" Alan complained, clearly upset by something Horace had neglected to do. Skylar and I exchanged looks before leaning back in our seats, ready to watch this all unfold.

"Alan, we've talked about this." Horace sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"But you promised! You told me on my eighth birthday that when I become a man, I could finally meet my father!" Alan protested.

Wow. I had figured this was about some new sweater vest that Horace was supposed to get him, or perhaps a change of menu in the cafeteria. But meeting his father? That never even crossed my mind. "You've never met your father?" I asked Alan softly.

"No." He replied. "He's a very important super-secret superhero, Optimo."

"I've never heard of Optimo." Skylar mentioned, though, I did remember hearing the name before. He'd never been a patient at Mighty Med, that's for sure, but I had definitely heard the name, either in a comic book or here at Mighty Med. Wait! Didn't we have Optimo's Dagger of Truth in the Lost and Found box?

"Well, he's super-secret!" Alan snapped at Skylar. Horace sighed.

"Alan, I don't think it's a good idea." He began, only to stop when he saw Alan's face.

"But I really want to meet him." The boy pleaded with his uncle. "And I'm a man now! I've even grown a chest hair. I'll show you!"

Alan waited half a beat for Horace to look down at his clipboard, then he spun around and yanked a stand of hair from Skylar's pink streak. The former superhero winced, glaring at him hatefully for pulling her hair, but he didn't care.

"See? It's right here." He held it out for Horace's inspection. "It grew so long, it fell out. And turned pink."

Horace looked at the hair skeptically for a long moment. "Well, we Diazes do have really long, pink, chest hair." Gross, I so did NOT need to know that bit of trivia. "But it's too dangerous for you and your father to meet."

"I won't even tell him who I am!" Alan bargained desperately. "Please, I just want to meet him and see him for myself."

"No." Horace sighed, giving Alan an apologetic look. "Look, Alan, your father is the head of Super-Secret Heroes in Hiding, also known as SSHH. If villains find out that he has a son, you'd both be in tremendous risk. I'm sorry."

With that final note, he walked away, leaving us with a very disappointed Alan. Alan slumped down in one of the chairs across from us, a bummed out look on his face.

"Wow." I looked at him gently. "What are you going to do?"

"Nothing. My Uncle Horace said that I can't meet my father, so I guess that's it." Gone was his usual condescending, cocky attitude. For once, Alan actually sounded like a lonely kid who just wanted his father.

"Absolutely not!" I rejected the idea of giving up, much to his surprise. Skylar nodded, leaning forward her in seat.

"Tell you what, Alan; We're going to help you find your father." She told him, sincerely. He looked at us in stunned disbelief.

"Really?" He asked. We both nodded.

"Yeah." Skylar nodded sincerely. "I don't have any parents, but if I had the chance to meet the pod of nutrient solution that created me, nothing would stand in my way. Except the dragon guarding the pod forest. They're really strict about IDs."

**Kaz's POV**

I waited for hours for somebody to find me, but nobody came. Not Oliver, not Dani, no one. I was just left by myself, alone, for ages! And with entire room dark, there was nothing to do aside from listen to the voices coming from the ER.

I suppose it wasn't a total waste; I learned that Solar Flare and Blue Tornado were apparently seeing each other behind everyone's backs, Neocortex was the one who kept stealing Dani's lunch (apparently, he's a vegetarian too), and Timeline hated the red pens and refused to use anything but blue ones.

Eventually though, I heard an all-too-familiar voice. "Hey, Oliver, do you mind if I use your laptop? I'm waiting on a new hard drive for mine and I need to print off a copy of lab report for chemistry." A crisp Irish accent requested, coming from right above me. There was a muffled response, presumably from Oliver, and the room lit up once more. A pale skinned, hazel-eyed face the size of the glass wall stared at me, shocked. "Holy-Oliver, why is Kaz in your computer?"

"What do you mean Kaz-" Oliver's head appeared in my field of vision, a baffled look on his face. "Kaz, why are you in my computer? What did you do?"

I smiled sheepishly. "Okay, I hear a lot of blame in your voice…"

"I have no idea how this happened, but I'm guessing it has something to do with you trying to copy my study guide."

"What? Why would you think that?" I feigned innocence. Alivia raised an eyebrow.

"Kaz, look behind you." She suggested. I turned around and to my surprise, I found myself face to face with a white wall, dark, black lettered words covering it in lines. I was too close up to read it properly – it all looked like gibberish at this distance – but I could take a good guess as to what it was.

"Oh, yeah…well, you shouldn't have made your password so easy for Dani to guess!" I retorted. Oliver cursed under his breath.

"I'm going to kill my sister for giving you that password." He muttered. "Now get out of my computer!"

"No way. I'm in a computer; I wanna look around." Now that the lights were back on, I could see a few interesting files. Oliver gave me an annoyed look as I glanced around. I suddenly spied a folder labelled 'personal'. "What's in this folder?" I wondered aloud.

"Don't open it! I have a lot of private stuff in there!" Oliver's panicked look was all the incentive I needed. I grabbed at the folder and it opened up, the contents exploding all over the room. I laughed in amusement as I examined the photos inside, all of them photoshopped images of his and Skylar's future wedding.

"Oh my…" Alivia laughed, her hand covering her mouth. "Wait, wait, wait. Why do the wedding invitations say Skylar and Oliver Storm? You're taking her name?"

"It's the custom on her planet!" He snapped defensively before glaring at me. "I'm serious, Kaz! Get out of my computer!"

"Okay, okay." Before he had an aneurysm. "There's just one problem: I have no idea how."

"What?" Alivia frowned. I shrugged helplessly.

"Some guy put me in here, and I have no clue who he was or where he went." I explained as best as I could.

"Wait, I have an idea of how I can help you escape." Oliver suggested. He pressed a button, but nothing happened. "Dang it. That escape key is very inaccurately named"

**Dani's POV**

"Alright, this is the place." I announced as we stepped out of the taxi. Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, Alan's father's place was too far for us to walk. Thankfully, it was still close enough that we'd all be home before any noticed our disappearance. "At least, according to your Mighty Med records."

We gazed up at the large apartment building for a moment, then followed Alan inside. He didn't say anything to us as we climbed each set of stairs, only stopping once we reached the eighth floor.

"Wow, my dad must be super-powerful to walk up eight flights of stairs every day." Alan breathed, wiping his brow. He stood up straight suddenly, looking at door 804. That was the door to his father's apartment. "I can't believe I'm about to meet my father."

"You nervous or excited?" I asked gently. He shrugged, then brushed off the jacket and sweater he'd changed into when Skylar had suggested that he look ore presentable.

"How do I look?" He asked hesitantly.

"Great." Skylar replied gently. He nodded.

"Good. Good." He agreed absently before glancing at us and gesturing at our clothing. "Because I am not loving this at all."

Before either of us could protest, Alan took a deep breath and knocked on the door. It opened up a moment later, revealing a tall, middle-aged man with curly light brown hair and a bit of a goatee. I had to say, he didn't look much like Alan, nor did he look like much of a superhero. But Alan was star-struck, frozen in place.

"Yeah?" The man questioned, looking at us. When Alan didn't answer, I stepped in.

"Hi, uh, we're looking for Nelson Gonzalez?" I asked kindly. The man, presumably Nelson, grinned.

"Oh, you guys are here for the couch?" He replied, ushering us in. "Well come on it, come on in."

He ushered us into a small, kinda dirty looking apartment. The entire room, about the size of my dining room, was cluttered with overflowing book shelves, kitchen supplies, an old TV, and about anything else he could have found to stick in here. "We're not here about the couch." Alan told him.

"Oh." Nelson looked at us thoughtfully, trying to figure out what we wanted. Before Alan could continue, the confusion cleared from his father's face. "Well, if you're here to complain about the chickens, I'm sorry, but I like fresh eggs.'

I looked around, but I couldn't see any farm animals of any kind amongst the mess. "I don't see any chickens."

"Well, it turns out, I prefer eating fresh chickens." He shrugged. I looked at him, horrified and disgusted. Did he seriously kill and eat his pets? What was wrong with this man? There was no doubt in my mind now that this man was related to Alan.

"Easy, Dani." Skylar murmured, patting my shoulder as I glowered at the man.

"Never mind that." Alan told him, ignoring us. "I just wanted to meet you. I've heard so many stories about you, all the incredible saving you've done."

"It's true." Nelson smiled proudly. "I've never met a coupon I didn't like. That's why I have so many cans of cat food. I don't even have a cat, except for this stuffed one." He held up a stuffed cat, and I don't mean the cute stuffed cats that you would get for a little kid. I mean a dead cat that was stuffed with something.

"Oh my God." I covered my eyes, turning around. Maybe if I pretended that it wasn't there, it would go away.

"Speaking of creepy stuffed cats, we should get out of here." Skylar suggested, beginning to lead me towards the door.

"No, I meant stories about you being a superhero." Alan insisted, forcing Skylar and I to stay.

Nelson paused for a long moment, considering his answer. Then, "So that's why you're here, huh?" He sighed. "Well then, let me show you my costume."

There was a moment of silence. "Um, is your friend going to stop hiding her eyes any time soon?"

"Not until it's gone." I retorted, keeping my hands where they were. I heard Skylar sigh, then some rustling of boxes.

"It's safe to open your eyes." I heard her say. I slowly lowered my hands away from my face. To my relief, that horrible monstrosity was nowhere to be seen. Nelson chuckled briefly before opening his closet door and pulling a yellow superhero suit out. I knew there was something off about it right away, but once I saw the red lightning bolt on the front, I knew that it was just some Reverse Flash costume that anyone could get at any costume store. And technically, it wasn't even a hero's costume. Alan and Skylar both looked at the costume, surprised.

"I can also be a dinosaur, or a clown who's wearing a dinosaur costume." Nelson added, grabbing a green dino costume from the closet with his dominant hand.

"You're a birthday party planner?" I asked, a feeling of dread coming over me. Oh no. Horace must have lied to Alan when he told him that his father a great superhero. This man wasn't a super anything, and once Alan realized it, it would break his heart.

"Oh no, no, no. I only do that part-time." Nelson assured us. "The rest of the time I'm unemployed."

Before he could say more, his phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket, then glanced at us. "Listen, I gotta run out for a minute." He told us, heading for the door. "Hey, would you guys do me a favor and go down to the basement and grab my laundry from the dryer? And make sure you clean out the lint trap – I collect lint."

He didn't wait for our response, instead racing out the door before we could stop him. "Well, that was no what I expected."

"Alan, I'm so sorry." I told the curly haired boy apologetically. He stared at me as if I'd suddenly grown two heads.

"Why? He's even more amazing than I expected." He told us, grinning ear to ear. Skylar and I exchanged confused looks, so he elaborated. "The dirty apartment, the ugly furniture…he really commits to the whole super secret identity thing. And I love how he trusts me enough to leave me here alone."

"That's because there's nothing here worth-taking." I commented. Though, if I swiped a couple of those cat food cans for Katy, I doubt he would even notice.

"Alan, I don't know how to tell you this, but I think your father is a Normo." Skylar told him gently.

"What?" Alan demanded. "That's ridiculous! My Uncle Horace told me that my dad is Optimo, the superhero. Why would he lie?"

"Maybe he didn't want you to find out that your father is really just Nelson, the world's worth chicken egg farmer." I replied, trying to be kind. Alan shook his head, refusing to believe us.

"Well, I'm not leaving until I find out for sure." He decided. "Also, because I'm still tired from the eight flights of stairs."

**Kaz's POV**

If I hadn't known already that neither Oliver nor Alivia were particularly efficient with a computer. Seriously, they were terrible at this. "Benny!" Alivia eventually called in frustration. "Do you think you could please help us with a minor problem on Oliver's computer?"

"You're in luck." Benny agreed, walking over to us. "I happen to have the two qualifications that make me a computer expert: I have a Masters Degree in Computer Science and I have no friends whatsoever."

"How the heck did you afford a masters degree on a Mighty Med salary?" Oliver questioned. Benny shrugged.

"I sometimes pretend to be a Normo and drive cabs in New York on weekends for some extra cash."  **(1)**  He replied before looking at the computer screen. "There's your problem; Kaz is stuck in your computer."

"We know. We want him out." Oliver explained. Alivia sighed.

"Kaz, tell us exactly what happened to Benny can figure out what to do." She told me. I nodded.

"Well, all I did was put a USB flash drive into Oliver's computer." I began. Benny looked at the USB, his eyes widening.

"Oh no. This isn't an ordinary flash drive." He told me. "It's a USB prison for digital villains. Where did you find it? It should have been stored in a secure location."

"Then why'd Dani find it in the junk drawer?" I questioned.

"I was supposed to put it-oh." Benny stopped. "That explains why I found all those soy sauce packets in the safe."

"Wait, okay." I suddenly remembered something. "I remember I pressed control-alt-F8. Try typing that in."

Benny nodded and pressed the buttons. A holographic image of the guy from earlier appeared next to me, standing at twice my height. "That's the digital villain Wi-Fi!"

" _If you're watching this video, then I have been released from my USB prison, and right now I'm out there, trying to locate the Mighty Med Central Computer so I can invade it and learn top-secret information about every superhero in the galaxy and sell it to all the villains."_ Wi-Fi informed us.  _"Except Counterfeit. He always uses fake money."_

"You guys have to get me out of here so we can stop him." I pleaded with my friends.

" _One more thing."_ Wi-Fi added, a smug look on his face.  _"If you're thinking about stopping me, you might want to focus more on saving the fool who released me, because I have installed a virus that will erase everything on this laptop, including whoever's trapped inside it!"_

The moment his image disappeared, the far wall of my little room began to fade into darkness. It was slow, but not slow enough for me. "This is terrible!" Oliver cried. "Figures this would happen the day after my computer's warranty runs out."

"We've got to stop Wi-Fi before he finds the central computer and gets all the superheroes' information." Alivia insisted, adjusting her dark green gloves.

"Maybe first you can get me out of here? I'm about to be erased!" I protested, backing up as the far end of the room began to fade even more.

"Wait." Oliver grabbed Alivia's arm, his face lighting up with an idea. "I just thought of something, What if we print out Kaz on the new 3D printer?"

"That could work." Benny agreed.

"Or Kaz might end up permanently turned into plastic." Alivia insisted.

"Ooh, I wonder which will happen." Benny smiled. "This is so exciting."

"Not exciting!" I snapped.

"We don't have another choice." Oliver told me. I sighed, knowing that he was right.

"Benny, go hook him up to the 3D printer." Alivia ordered, standing up. "Oliver and I will try to shut down the central computer before Wi-Fi gets into it."

Oliver hit a button just below the counter and the wall to his left opened up. A massive, complicated device slid out, the area behind it glowing brightly. Suddenly, the TV screen above one of the patient's beds flickered to life and Wi-Fi flew out of it, just like he had done earlier with Oliver's laptop. "Thanks for pointing out where the central computer is." He smirked at us. "And you won't be able to shut it down.

"How are you going to stop us?" Alivia retorted, falling into a fighting stance. Wi-Fi smirked.

"Like this." He replied before jumping towards Optimo. He dissolved in mid-air, his light blue particles disappearing when they hit Titanio's suit. The hero's helmet slid out of the back of his suit, covering his head before he could protest, and he came stumbling towards Oliver and Alivia. In one fluid motion, he lifted both of them off their feet and flung them towards a nearby wall. I couldn't see where they landed, but I did hear their pained groans after they hit the ground.

**Dani's POV**

Since Alan was refusing to leave with us, and I knew that he would never be able to get home on his own, Skylar and I were forced to remain at Nelson's as well. So, we found ourselves folding his laundry. But hey, at least Alan was willing to help out with it.

"I'm sure my dad is a superhero." The boy insisted as we folded shirts. "There must be some sort of proof around here somewhere."

He began to go through Nelson's drawers, just as the door to his apartment swung open. But it wasn't Nelson who walked in, it was Horace. My boss was dressed formerly – I guess that's how they both thought Normos dressed in public, though why I would never know – and had a very concerned look on his face. "Horace?" I questioned, surprised.

"Alan!" He ignored Skylar and I, immediately turning to his nephew. "If you're going to ransack someone's apartment, you should do it more like this!"

He pushed Alan aside and ripped the drawer out of the desk, tossing the contents onto the ground carelessly before dropping the drawer on top of them for extra measure.

"Horace, how did you find us?" Skylar asked, confused, as Horace look around. He adjusted his suit before looking pointedly at me.

"I saw that you went into Alan's file and I figured you came here." He explained. "Now, c'mon. Let's get back to the hospital. We're having a round robin limbo tournament."

I could tell that he was just saying that to try and convince Alan to leave with him, but seriously, why was limbo the most popular game at the hospital?

"No!" Alan refused to fall for the ploy. "I will not let you pull me away from the truth anymore with fun, Caribbean themed, dancing games!"

Horace sighed. "Alright, it's time you learned the truth." He approached his nephew. "Your father's really a Normo."

"No, he isn't. Ther-There's no way!" Alan protested desperately. His voice went small towards the end. "He's Optimo."

"Optimo doesn't exist." Horace told him gently. "I made up that story so you wouldn't be disappointed. You see," he had Alan sit down on the couch, "years ago, my sister, your mother, married Nelson. It was a lovely wedding; they had a make-your-own-sundae ice cream bar. But right before you were born, the villain, Razorclaw, captured your father and tried to use him to get into Mighty Med. We managed to rescue your father, but we realized that it wasn't safe for him to know about the superhero world. For his protection, we had to erase his memory."

Alan took a moment to process all of that. "I don't believe it."

"Me neither." Skylar agreed. "A make-your-own-sundae ice cream bar? How may flavors?"

Horace turned around to answer, but Alan jumped to his feet. "No!" He shouted, upset. "I mean, you're lying! Th-This is all part of my father's plan! He's such an awesome superhero, he'll do anything to keep his identity a secret! Even if it means depriving himself of his own son, and dressing as badly as Skylar and Dani!"

I glanced down at my clothes. Seriously, there was nothing wrong with these!

"I'm sorry, Alan, but I'm not lying." Horace told him solemnly. "But I'm about to." He turned around and gave us his most charming smile. "Skylar, Dani, I love your outfits. They're very flattering."

"That's it. I'm changing when I get home." I muttered as Skylar tugged at the bottom of her sweater.

**Kaz's POV**

"Guys, do something!" Alivia shouted as she dodged another blow from Titanio's suit. In order to buy us more time, the red-head had split into four duplicates of herself, each of them trying to take him out from a different angle. However, aside from duplication, Alivia didn't have any other abilities, so none of her punches and kicks were able to do much more than annoy Wi-Fi.

"Ouch." Oliver winced as one of the duplicates took a hard blow to the stomach. "That's going to leave a bruise."

Meanwhile, Titanio was apologizing furiously for his suit's behavior, guilt lacing his tone. "Sorry kid…that's got to hurt. Don't tell Clone Master about this, okay?"

"Oliver, hurry!" I shouted, reminding him of my predicament. The darkness was spreading closer and closer, forcing me to the far edge of the tiny room.

"Kaz only has thirty seconds before he gets erased!" Finally, he remembered me! He grabbed the laptop, lifting it off the table and raced towards the 3D printer.

"Whoa!" I exclaimed as the room shook violently, the trembling only stopping when he placed the laptop down on top of the printer. "Wait!" I suddenly thought of something just as Oliver was about to print me. "If I end up permanently stuck as an action figure, I was to at least be stuck in a cool pose!"

Ignoring Oliver's frustrated look, I got down on one knee, punching a fist into the ground. Yes, if I was forced to be frozen in one position forever, then this was the position I wanted to be stuck in.

Oliver hit the switch on the 3D printer, and a strange tingling sensation began to rise from my knees. Slowly, but surely, my body began to disappear, until the tingling sensation reached my face. My vision went white for a brief moment, and then I was looking around Mighty Med, no longer trapped within the computer. Not just that, but I totally and completely made of flesh and bones!

"Yes! It worked! I'm out!" I cheered gleefully. Suddenly, a blast from Titanio's armor hit the wall near us, sending us both scrambling for cover. "Put me back in! Put me back in!" I cried.

Wi-Fi suddenly leapt from Titanio's still malfunctioning armor. "I'll be jumping into the central computer now." He announced. "I know you already would have seen that, but I like talking about myself."

"Stop!" Alivia exclaimed, charging at the villain. He disappeared seconds before she could hit him and she stumbled right on through where he used to be. All the while, he was diving into the computer.

"Now what?" Oliver questioned, looking at me as if I would have the answer.

"At least Titanio won't be attacking us anymore." One of the Alivias walked over to us, breathing hard, while one of them helped one of the duplicates to their feet. Suddenly, Titanio started blasting at us again, forcing me, Oliver, Benny, and all four Alivias to hit the deck. "C'mon, man, seriously?"

"I can't help it! Wi-Fi reprogrammed my suit so I would shoot at you!" Titanio explained apologetically.

"Oh no! Wi-Fi's tearing down the firewalls!" Benny worried aloud, pointing at the central computer. Sure enough, I could see the little firewall symbols, two of the five already deactivated.

"Duck!" Alivia ordered suddenly as another of Titanio's blasts nearly took our heads off.

"Wait!" Oliver looked at us. "If we plug the USB prison into the central, we can lock Wi-Fi back inside of it!"

"That's a good idea, Oliver!" Alivia agreed with him. I nodded.

"I'll try to stop Titanio by rewiring his exo-suit so you can get to the central computer." I offered. I looked at Alivia. "You mind being a distraction, red?"

"Let's do it." She replied confidently, racing out ahead of me to take on Titanio.

**Dani's POV**

"Alan, please. Let's just go." Horace pleaded with his nephew for what must have been the hundredth time.

"No." The boy refused to move his butt off the couch.

"Alan, I am begging you." I chimed. "That poor, stuffed cat is staring into my soul and it's wrong and creepy and I want to leave, like now!"

They all glanced towards the stuffed animal that I was trying my best not to look at. How anyone could do that to a poor, innocent animal is beyond me. Not long after, the front door opened and Nelson walked in, a stack of steaks in his hands. He froze upon seeing Horace.

"Now look here," He said after a moment, "I already told the police, I found this meat in an abandoned alley!"

"Don't worry. I'm just here to take these kids home." He began to usher us towards the door. "C'mon, you three."

"No!" Alan dug his heels into the ground. Damn, this kid was stubborn. "I'm not going. I'm sure my dad's a superhero, and I'm going to prove it! He'll have to use his powers to stop this!"

He raised one hand and I immediately figured out his plan. "Alan, don't!" I tried to stop him, but it was too late. Alan used his telekinesis to send the small TV flying from its stand right into Nelson's chest.

"Ah!" Nelson groaned as he hit the couch, his hand reaching up to where the TV had hit him. He looked at Alan in confusion. "How did you do that? WHY did you do that?" He demanded, pain leaking into his voice.

"Alan, he doesn't have any super powers!" Skylar insisted, looking Alan right in the eye. The younger boy shook his head head.

"No, he just doesn't want to use them." He retorted, looking around. Suddenly, his face cleared. "But he'll have to to save his own son!"

He raised his hands and suddenly, the book case next to him began to wobble. Then, it began to fall.

Nelson raced forward, pushing Alan out of harm's way, only for he himself to be hit by the bookcase. The weight of it knocked him to the ground, the bookcase pinning him where he lay.

"Are you okay?" Skylar demanded as we all stared at him. He nodded, wincing.

"I'm fine." He assured us. "I was bleeding when I got here. I'm not the only one who wanted that alley meat."

"So my father is just an ordinary Normo." Alan sighed as Skylar and Horace went to help Nelson get out from under the bookcase. I shook my head.

"No. He may be a Normo, but he's not ordinary. He was incredibly brave to save you like that." I told him, putting my hand on his shoulder.

Alan smiled. "He was, wasn't he?" He replied. I nodded and Alan went to go face his father. "Thank you for saving me." He told him before hesitantly adding, "You know, I've never met my father, but whoever he is, I hope he's just like you. But with a job."

Nelson chuckled lightly at that, and allowed Alan to hug him. "You smell like rotting meat." Alan commented as he held his father tightly for what was the first and quite possibly last time. "I like it."

"C'mon Alan, we should go." Horace called him after a long moment. Alan nodded and pulled away, following us to the door. "Now, unfortunately, since he's seen you use your powers, I'm going to have to erase his memory again." He warned us. Alan nodding in understanding. "Now, go on ahead. I'll be down in a minute. And maybe when we're done, we'll take these two clothing shopping."

"Ugh!' Skylar let out a frustrated noise and stormed out of the apartment building. Alan and I followed shortly behind her. "What is wrong with our clothes?"

"Nothing, but if Horace is offering to pay for new ones, then I'm not going to argue." I reached into my pocket to check how much cash I had left on me, but to my surprise, it was empty. "Shit!"

"What?" Alan looked confused.

"I think I dropped my wallet in Nelson's apartment." I explained as they reached the stairs. "I'll be right back."

I jogged back to the apartment, hoping to grab it before Horace erased his memory – it would be pretty hard to explain how my wallet had gotten in there if Nelson didn't remember me. My hand was on the doorknob when I heard voices coming from inside.

"Are you okay, Optimo?" I heard Horace question. The Nelson sighed.

"I hate that I can't tell Alan my true identity and have a relationship with him." He sighed. I froze, my eyes going wide. Alan had been right! But why would they keep this from him?

"I know it's hard, but this is the way it has to be. Razorclaw has vowed revenge." So they were trying to protect Alan. I'd heard of Razorclaw before – comics involving him were always pretty graphic, and a good number of superheroes had lost their lives to him. No wonder they were trying to keep Alan a secret. Even if it meant keeping this a secret from Alan.

"I suppose you're right." Optimo sighed. "Still, I'm glad I finally got to meet my son. He seems like a fine young gentleman."

I had to cover my mouth to stifle my laugh. "Meh." Horace replied. A moment later, he corrected himself. "No, he's a good kid."

Suddenly, a phone rang, and I realized that one of them would be coming out really soon. I should probably get out of here – I could come back for my wallet another time.

I quickly snuck down the stairs and met up with Skylar and Alan at the curb. "Did you find it?"

I hesitated, considering tell Alan the truth. But then I remembered what Horace has said about Razorclaw and decided against it. It would be safer for him, and besides, it wasn't my place to tell him about his father. "Uh, no. No I didn't."

"Kids!" We turned to see Horace walking towards us. "Have you called a cab yet?"

"Yeah, they should be here soon." Skylar replied. He nodded and slipped his hand into his pocket, pulling out a wallet.

"Dani, I think you dropped this." He offered it to me.

"Thanks." I replied, pocketing it without meeting his gaze.

**Kaz's POV**

"Gah!" Alivia cried out as one of Titanio's blasts hit her directly in the chest. She stumbled back a few steps, a pained look on her face.

"Sorry! This hurts me as much as it hurts you!" Titanio apologized.

"I seriously doubt that." One of the other Alivias snapped before charging at him. "Any time now, Kaz!"

I ran towards Titanio, dropping to my knees at the last moment and sliding behind him, all while Alivia was taking hits. I reached upwards, taking advantage of his split attention, and grabbed a handful of his wires. I yanked on them as hard as I could, laughing in surprised relief when they gave way and Titanio's suit shut down.

"Oliver, hurry! Wi-Fi's almost through!" I called, glancing at the firewall display. Four of the fire firewalls were already down, with only one left standing.

"Got it." He nodded, grabbing the USB drive and racing towards the central computer. He stopped short in front of it, a panicked look on his face. "Oh no! There's no USB port on this thing! There's only a slot for a floppy disk; they don't even make those anymore!"

"He's about to break through the final firewall!" Alivia called, having morphed back into a singular version of herself. She was leaning heavily on the ER counter. "What do we do?"

I suddenly had an idea. "Wait!" I called, scrambling behind the counter. I pulled Horace's laptop out from his private drawer and turned it on. Thankfully, it only took one guess to get the password – of course it would be his favorite word in the world, Bridges – and I logged into his account. "Horace's laptop can bypass the central computer's firewall! I can remotely transfer all the superhero files onto here, destroy Horace's laptop, and then Wi-Fi won't have access to them."

"Good idea." Oliver nodded at me, but his tone was sarcastic. "You know what would have been even better? Whispering it, so that Wi-Fi didn't hear everything you just said!"

"You were surprisingly loud." Wi-Fi agreed, his voice coming from the central computer. "Thank you for that."

"It doesn't matter!" I retorted. "Because the transfer will be done in five…four…three…"

Wi-Fi leapt out of the central computer and flew into Horace's laptop, just as I had expected him to. "He's going to get the classified files!" Oliver exclaimed, watching Wi-Fi walk around on the screen. I smirked cockily, watching the villain open the folder. It opened up and numerous pictures of bridges appeared. "There's nothing in here but pictures of bridges. What have you done?"

I ripped the USB out of Oliver's hands, plugging it into the laptop before Wi-Fi could react. I hit the buttons necessary and trapped him within it, locking him away for good. "It worked." I grinned to myself, removing the USB and holding it up proudly.

"You trapped him." Even Oliver sounded impressed. Alivia nodded.

"You never transferred the files at all. You just tricked him into think you did." She realized, smiling.

"Once again, cheating pays off!" I announced. Then, on a second thought, I added, "Although it was more like lying than cheating, but I equally endorse both of them."

"Good for you." Alivia sighed, sliding her back against the counter until she was sitting on the ground.

"Are you alright?" I checked. She nodded, even though she was wincing.

"Oh yeah, totally. Just need a minute." She assured us. Oliver and I exchanged glances but didn't press her. Alivia wasn't the kind to hide serious injuries, so she was probably just bruised and sore, with maybe a cracked rib. Nothing that was life threatening at this moment.

**xxx**

"So, Kaz, I hope you learned you lesson." Oliver mentioned as he put Horace's laptop away. "When you cheat, you only cheat yourself, and sometimes get sucked into a computer."

"Yeah." I agreed, grinning. And I had thought today was going to be boring.

"And because of you," He added, a note of annoyance in his voice, "everything on my computer has been deleted."

"No, not everything." I replied. He looked confused, so I continued. "I managed to save a photo of you and Skylar, and I even printed it for you in 3D."

I gestured behind him and he turned around to see the seven-foot-tall plastic statue of him in a tux and Skylar in a wedding dress, their arms linked. I smiled, thinking that he would like this very much, just as Skylar and Dani walked in.

Skylar stopped when she saw the statue, looked at it for a moment, then shook her head. "I'm not even going to ask." She decided, walking away. Dani raised an eyebrow at the statue, then looked around the room, most of the gurneys still out of the place from when we fought Titanio.

"So what did you guys do today?" She inquired, a bemused expression on her face.


	16. There's a Storm Coming

**Dani's POV**

"Hey, what are you still doing here?" I looked up from my stack of paperwork to see Alivia standing above me, dressed in her Geminus uniform. I was sitting in the rec room, trying to get some paperwork done in peace, but clearly, that was not going to happen.

"Uh, working." I replied.

"Why not go home? It's already seven; won't your mom be missing you?" The Irish girl questioned, leaning on the counter. I rolled my eyes.

"She's at some dinner with some business people, again." I replied. "So, no, she won't miss us."

Alivia quickly picked up on my tone. "You guys get in another fight?"

I sighed. "My grades, again. She wants me to drop soccer so I can boost my average. Which is just her trying to get me to quit soccer again, because my grade average is better than it's ever been. I mean, I can't remember the last time I got so many Bs in a row."

"Why does your mom hate soccer?" She questioned.

"I have no idea. Ollie thinks it has something to do with that time I tried to score by bouncing a ball off my head and got a concussion, but that was like six years ago, so I'm not so sure."

Alivia was quiet for a moment as I continued to fill out forms, then she smiled. "Want me to distract you?"

"Sure." I sighed, placing the pile of papers on the table and crossing my legs. "What's up?"

"Well, I wanted your opinion on what I should wear to the party." She commented. "Because Jaime's gonna be there, which is awesome, but so is my dad, which means I can't wear anything too revealing, but-"

"Whoa, back up. What party?" I interrupted her, confused. She frowned.

"Skylar's party. The one your brother's throwing for her on Tuesday." She replied. I just looked at her, completely confused as to what she was talking about. "He didn't invite you?"

"No, he…wait, did you say Tuesday?" I questioned. She nodded and I pushed myself out of my seat, annoyed. "I'll be right back."

I headed towards the ER, looking for my brother. Instead, I found Kaz, fooling around with Philip.

"Hey, have you seen Ollie?" I questioned, pulling my best friend away.

"No, why?" He asked, noting my annoyance. "Did he take the last of the Tofu Pops or something?"

"No, he's throwing a party for Skylar on Tuesday, and apparently I'm not invited." I grumbled. I caught his expression, then raised an eyebrow. "I take it you haven't gotten an invitation either."

"He's throwing a party without us?" Kaz was upset.

"Yeah, I don't know what the party's about, or the occasion, but Skylar's our friend too. You'd think we'd be invited." I agreed. Kaz suddenly looked past me.

"Why don't we go ask them about it?" He suggested, walking around me. I followed him to where Skylar and Oliver were talking, a stack of pink flyers in my brother's left hand.

"Hey guys." I greeted slowly. They smiled at us and Oliver handed us each a flyer with a date, location, and an image of a balloon on it.

"Hey, there you guys are." He smiled at us.

"You're throwing a party?" I questioned, getting right to the point.

"On Tuesday?" Kaz read off the sheet. He looked at Oliver, a little hurt. "I thought you, me, and Dee were gonna go check out that new superhero-themed restaurant on Tuesday?"

"Actually, Skylar and I went there yesterday." Ollie admitted, only a little guiltily. "I would not recommend the chili; it goes through you faster than a speeding bullet."

Both he and Skylar laughed at their little pun, while Kaz and I were both a little stung. The three of us had been super excited about the restaurant ever since it had been announced and had been waiting month after month for it to finally open. We'd all agreed to go on Tuesday after we get our paychecks so that money wouldn't be so tight afterwards, but apparently, hanging out with Skylar was more important to my brother than his friends.

"So, uh, what's the party for, anyway?" Kaz eventually asked when their laughter began to die down.

"It's for Skylar." Ollie explained. Said Calderan nodded.

"See, I was bummed that it's been a whole year since the Annihilator stole my powers-"

"So I said, 'instead of focusing on the negative, let's throw a party to celebrate the anniversary.'" Ollie added.

"And I said, 'ooh fun! Let me plan it, because the only thing better than parties is planning parties!'" Skylar's face fell slightly. "And having powers. Now I'm sad again."

"Go hand out more invitations." My brother suggested. She smiled.

"Ooh, fun!" She beamed, heading off to hand out more flyers to people. Ollie looked at us.

"Are you guys okay? You seem a little upset." He mentioned, concerned.

Before either Kaz or I could answer, Philip, the large-headed nurse, spoke up from behind us. "I am a little upset, thank you for noticing." He smiled gratefully at my brother. "I was beginning to think no one around here cares at all about how I feel!"

"Actually, I was talking to them." Oliver told him, slightly embarrassed. Philip glared at us.

"You people disgust me." He snapped before walking away. Kaz and I both turned to Ollie.

"I can't believe you're throwing Skylar a party." Kaz told him, annoyed.

"You didn't even invite us." I added, hurt.

"You never throw me a party." Kaz muttered.

"A, Skylar has your invitations," Ollie informed us. "B, you're not stranded on an alien planet with no powers, and C, I don't dream of you hugging me."

"Well, we're certainly not going to hug you now." I mumbled.

"Lately, you've been spending more and more time with Skylar." Kaz accused. "You're supposed to be our best friend, not hers."

"What, I can't do things with other people?" Ollie retorted. I looked at him.

"We didn't say that, and you know it. I hang out with Liv a lot, but I still make sure I have plenty of time to spend with the both of you." I reminded him. He rolled his eyes.

"It's not my fault that Kaz hasn't made any other friends this year. And I thought we talked about all this, Dee." He commented.

"You talked, I listened." I corrected, annoyed.

"And I've made plenty of other friends!" Kaz defended himself. Ollie crossed his arms, looking at him.

"Alright, name one of them, other than Alivia." He challenged. Kaz looked around for someone.

"Like uh…Like Philip." He decided. Philip stopped, smiling.

"That's so nice, Kaz." He said happily. "I've always like you too."

"I was actually talking about that Philip." He gestured at one of the doctors who was tending to a patient.

"You people disgust me!" Philip, the first one, snarled at us.

"Philip wait!" Ollie stopped him, holding out a flyer to him. "I was hoping you could come to Skylar's party."

"That's it." Kaz grumbled, annoyed. He looked at me. "Grab your stuff and punch out."

"Why?" I questioned, even as I grabbed my jacket from my drawer in the counter.

"We're going to that superhero-themed restaurant without him." Kaz decided. I smiled, excitement bubbling in my stomach for reasons I didn't quite understand, and followed him out the door.

**Xxx**

"You went on a date with Kaz." Alivia insisted, grinning at me. We were sitting in the ER during my morning shift, but literally nothing was happening. There were no patients whatsoever, a rarity here, and even the boys were AWOL. Well, actually, they were in the rec room, arguing about whether or not Ollie should let Kaz copy his homework to keep him from getting a detention on the night of the party. Ollie was pretty against it at first, but Kaz had this way of getting under his skin and getting what he wanted, so I could take a good guess at who was going to win this argument.

"It was not a date." I insisted. Alivia looked at me.

"He took you out for dinner." She pointed out.

"It was just dinner." I replied.

"And then you guys went to the movies." She continued.

"The Domain was closed; what else were we supposed to do?" I questioned rhetorically.

"And then he walked you home." She finished.

"He always does that afterschool and work, why would last night be different?" I rolled my eyes. She was making WAY to big a deal about this.

"That's a date, Dani. You have been on those before, right?" My best friend teased. I ignored her last statement.

"For the last time, it was not a date." I tried to change the subject, but she jumped right in before I could.

"Well, you do like him like that, don't you?" She inquired. I felt my cheeks heat up, and I ducked my head.

"No." I mumbled. Alivia laughed.

"Liar!" She accused. I glared at her.

"Well, it doesn't even matter, because he doesn't like me." I grumbled. She gave me a sympathetic look.

"Oh, sweetheart. If you can't see the way he looks at you, you need glasses." She told me. I rolled my eyes, looking back at my computer, trying to get back to my English essay. "Why don't you ask him out? Girls do that too, you know."

"I know." I replied.

"Then why not ask Kaz out? I'm sure he'd say yes." She encouraged me.

"Because." I replied. She looked at me, so I sighed and continued. "He's not just my best friend – he's Ollie's too. And if things don't work out, then things will be awkward, and I'll lose my best friend and Ollie will feel like he'll have to choose, and since I was the one to ask him out, Ollie would blame me and choose Kaz, and then who am I left to hang out with?"

"Uh, me?" The red-head reminded me. I looked at her.

"You're out of town, like, every other week because of you being Geminus, and Jaime comes down from New York every weekend, so we barely see each other outside of work and school." I pointed out. "Not to mention, Jaime doesn't actually like me, so hanging out together sucks."

Alivia opened her mouth to object, then changed her mind. "Okay, I will admit that she's a little jealous. But I'm sure that will stop once you're seeing someone."

"Why? Does she think I'm into you?" I questioned. "No offense, Liv, but you're not my type."

"Try telling her that." The Irish girl sighed. "But enough about Jaime! We're talking about you and Kaz."

"No, we're not." I replied, logging off the computer and heading into the rec room for some peace and quiet. Or at least, something relatively close. I knew that even though she might follow me in there, she wouldn't comment about my and Kaz's supposed 'date' in front of him.

"Hey," I greeted, pushing open the door to the rec room. "You guys figure out the homework situation yet?"

"Yes!" "No!" Both boys snapped, confirming that they'd yet to come to a conclusion yet. Alivia sighed and lowered herself into one of the grey chairs in front of the TV, just as Horace walked in.

"Oh, hey Horace," I smiled at him as he approached. "What can we do for you?"

"I hear you're throwing a party." He began, getting Ollie and Kaz's attentions. "Is it for Alan?"

"No, it's for Skylar." Kaz grumbled, clearly still annoyed by that fact. Horace nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm your boss, and now it's also for Alan!" He decided. We all looked at him. "His birthday is on Thursday because I'm lazy and self-absorbed."

"I barely wanted Alan as a guest," Ollie complained, "and now he's a guest of honor?"

"Exactly!" Horace beamed, much to my brother's frustration. "But we have to keep the party a secret from him; I want him to be surprised. Also, I love secrets!"

"I know." I muttered under my breath, remembering what happened last week with Nelson. I hadn't realized that I would feel guilty over not telling Alan the truth, especially since it really wasn't my place.

"I don't know…" Ollie began, but I stopped him.

"Ollie, just add a couple of blue streamers, give him his own cake, and buy him a sweater vest." I told him, exasperated. "It IS his birthday."

"Yeah, but-" He tried to protest, but Horace didn't give him the chance.

"I began that part of the conversation with 'I'm your boss' for a reason, Oliver." He told my brother.

"It's fine, Horace. We can throw the party for both of them." I assured him. He nodded, pleased with my response.

"So, it's Skylar's birthday too?" He inquired curiously.

"Actually, it's the one-year anniversary of her coming to Mighty Med." My brother explained. "Hey, did you know that they have a greeting card for that at the hospital gift shop?"

"That is so nice of you to lift her spirits," Horace told us, "before the tragic and permanent loss of her powers."

We all frowned, confused. Permanent loss of her powers? A year ago, Horace has said that they were restorable. Since when had that changed?

"What are you talking about?" Alivia questioned, leaning forward in her seat.

"Well, when superheroes from Skylar's planet are without their powers for a year, their molecular structure changes, and it becomes impossible to ever restore their powers."

"What?" We were all dismayed at this news. "That's terrible."

"There's got to be something we can do." I insisted, looking at Horace.

"I'm afraid not." Horace replied apologetically. "On the plus side, we'll be able to kick her out of the hospital."

"How is that the plus side?" Ollie demanded as Horace walked over to the simulator, checking it for something.

"We'll save so much money. You won't believe how much she eats. It's crazy!" Horace exclaimed.

"Horace!" My brother snapped. "We have to find a cure for Skylar before she loses her powers forever!"

"I know." Kaz agreed. "If she becomes a Normo, you guys will hang out even more. Hello Skoliver, goodbye Kaziver."

"Yeah, but then Kani will have more time to themselves." Alivia offered. I turned around and glared at her, my eyes wide with annoyance. She simply laughed at my reaction, then looked back at the boys. "But we can't tell Skylar about this.'

"Why not?" Ollie asked. Alivia sighed.

"You know her – she'll totally freak out, and she'll do something stupid in an attempt to get her powers back, and that will make her ten times harder to cure." The red-head reasoned. "The less she knows, the easier it will be for us."

"Well, I won't tell her, because I love secrets!" Horace grinned. "For example, Lizardman still doesn't know that I kicked him off the bowling team."

Lizardman walked in just then, carrying a bowling bag and wear a purple bowling shirt over his uniform. "Oh, Lizardman!" Horace greeted him. "Bowling's rained out again. Sorry."

Lizardman groaned in annoyance, but accepted the blatant lie as the truth and left. "Rained out, really?" Kaz questioned.

"Even for a lizard, he's a terrible bowler." Horace explained.

**Clyde's POV**

"Clyde?" I was in the middle of organizing the collectibles on the shelves of The Domain when I heard Wallace call my name. He was standing over by a wall rack of comic books, one of them in his hands. I didn't recognize it – it was black and white and looked crudely made – but I didn't question where he'd gotten it. "I think I've found the answer to all of our problems."

"A toothbrush that gets into those hard to reach places?" I asked hopefully, my tongue subconsciously trying to dislodge that piece of corn that was stuck between my teeth.

"I wish, but no." He sighed before showing me the comic book. "It's a comic book all about Mighty Med."

"What?" I demanded, flipping through it. Sure enough, it was filled with badly drawn pictures of a hospital. "How did this get here?"

"Do you remember that kid, Alan, with the cool sweater vest, who tried to sell us his comic book, but I said no in Russian, Chinese, Swahili, and sign language?"

"You're going to need to be more specific." I told him, thinking back. A number of kids had tried to sell us their comic books over the years, trying to make a quick buck, though usually, they were trying to sell old, used versions of the stuff we already sold, rather than their own work. Wallace sighed.

"His name is Alan Diaz, and according to this storyline, he seems to be the nephew of our most hated nemesis, Horace Diaz!" He explained.

"Aha! So the sweater-vested fellow who drew this could be very useful to us." I realized. Wallace nodded.

"Yes. Not only can he help us find Mighty Med and get the other half of the Dyad of Nebulan, but he can also draw us some fancy portraits of us to replace the ones that you did." My other half gestured at the set of painting that hung above the cashier's counter. I thought they were pretty good representations of us – I'd even included my glasses – but unfortunately, since I was terrible at actually drawing people, I'd drawn us as cats.

"Look, I'm sorry I can only draw cats." I told him, a little annoyed. I thought he'd gotten over that months ago. "How are we going to find this kid?"

"I have an idea." Wallace assured me before walking past me to greet Gus, who'd just walked into the store. "Hey, Gus. Remember that Alan kid whose comic book we asked you to read?"

"Wears the cool sweater vest?" Gus confirmed. Wallace nodded.

"That's the one." He agreed, grinning. "Well, we want to publish his comic book, and we were wondering if you had a way to get in touch with him.

"I can bring him to you." Gus offered. "But that would come with a price."

"A price?" I repeated, curious what this kid wanted.

"I want my pick of any collectible in the store, for free." He proclaimed.

"Fine." Not that bad – we wouldn't lose all that much money, and if that Alan kid came through for us, it wouldn't matter in the end anyway.

"And I want your left shoe," He told Wallace, "and your right shoe." He added, looking at me.

"Fine." We both pulled off said shoes, choosing not to question his requests, and handed them to him.

"Thanks." The scrawny child grinned at us, tucking the shoes under his arm. "I gotta run."

"When are you bringing Alan to us?" I demanded.

"I can't talk, I gotta run." He told us, already heading towards the door. He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and stuck it to his shirt. It read  **1454.** "I'm in the middle of a marathon right now! I was just taking a breather. Wish me luck!"

And with that, he flew out the door, racing past a couple of the marathon runners.

**Dani's POV**

After hearing the news about Skylar's powers, Ollie spent the next couple of hours trying to come up with his own solution.

"We can't just rely on Horace to come up with a cure for Skylar." He insisted. "We have to come up with one too."

"Okay, but how?" I questioned, watching him pace. When he didn't stop, I slid out of my seat and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Ollie, how?" I repeated my question clearly, trying to get him to focus.

"We'll need a DNA sample from her." He said after a moment.

"You know, I've known you my whole life, and you've never once asked me for a DNA sample." Kaz grumbled, unhelpfully. "I had to force you take mine."

"I'm not going to clone you, so just drop it." My brother sounded exasperated.

"Okay, DNA sample." I ignored Kaz. "I'm not great at chemistry, but I know hairs can contain DNA, right? All we'd have to do is pull one without her knowing."

"Okay, yeah." Ollie nodded, looking at me in surprise. "That's not a bad idea, Dani."

"Always the tone of surprise, dear brother?" I teased joking as Skylar walked into the room. To our surprise, her hair wasn't hanging loosely like normal, but rather was pinned up in tight curls around large colorful hoops designed for curling hair. Every single strand of her hair was pulled tight, making our little plan impossible.

"Skylar!" Ollie greeted, eyes staring at her hair in disappointment. "Your hair's not flowing down in easy-to-grab bunches for the very first time ever. Awesome."

"Thanks." The sarcasm in his voice went right over her head. "I'm trying something new for the party. I saw a Normo woman in a beauty salon with this hair style, so it must be beautiful."

Oh, god. She needed to get her powers back, ASAP. There was no way she was going to survive as a Normo.

"Oh, honey. What did you do to your hair?" Alivia proclaimed, walking up to Skylar with a horrified look on her face. She didn't give Skylar the chance to reply. "We need to fix this, now."

"We can get a saliva sample." Kaz whispered to us. He nodded at Skylar, who'd snuck a hard candy from the bowl Benny kept on the counter. "Hey Skylar, what're you chewing on?"

"A piece of diarrhea." She replied, confused by Kaz's curiosity. Alivia stared at her for a moment before her face cleared of its own confusion.

"Right. I keep forgetting that diarrhea means candy where you're from." She nodded. Kaz nodded, then looked at Skylar.

"Can I see it?" He requested. She frowned, but obliged, taking the candy out of her mouth. In a single swoop, Kaz pulled a plastic bag out of his pocket, grabbed the candy and dropped it in the bag.

"What are you doing?" Skylar demanded.

"On our planet, if you're going to eat diarrhea, you make sure you bring enough for everyone!" He snapped, walking away with the candy before she could object. She stared at him, then gestured at the bowl of candy a foot away from her.

"There's some right here!" She shouted, but it was too late; he was gone.

"Uh, bye." I said awkwardly, heading for the rec room and pulling Ollie along with me before either Skylar or Alivia could question us on Kaz's strange behavior.

**Clyde's POV**

Despite our misgivings, Gus followed through with his promise. Within an hour of him finishing his marathon, he was leading Alan into The Domain.

"Alright, this better be good, because you guys interrupted my intense cardio program," The boy exclaimed, annoyed, "that I was dreaming about during my afternoon nap."

"Speaking of dreams, guess whose dream is about to come true?" I told him.

"Mine, because I just wished on an eyelash and blew it off my finger." Wallace exclaimed. I gave him a pointed look, then turned back to Alan.

"Also, we want to buy your comic book." I explained.

"Really? That's incredible!" Alan exclaimed, thrilled at the prospect. Wallace nodded.

"Yes. We want you to write 50 more issues, giving us every detail about the cool and totally make-believe world of Mighty Med that you totally invented." He told the younger boy.

"Like how to get in." I added.

"How to get out." Wallace chimed in.

"What time the guards get off duty." I finished. Alan nodded excitedly, totally buying all of this.

"I have so many things I could tell you, like-" Gus cut him off there.

"Not so fast." He interrupted. 'I'm Alan's agent."

"You are?" Even Alan was surprised by that, but Gus just nodded.

"Yes, and from on, let me do the talking." He told Alan. "Your voice is kinda annoying." He turned to us and handed me a piece of paper that he'd fished out of his backpack. "So, before I hear your offer from my client's comic books, let's start with this."

I looked over the completely blank piece of paper. "There's nothing on this."

"I know; I just wanted to get rid of that piece of paper." He replied nonchalantly. "Now, for the sale of his comics, by client will settle for no less than a billion dollars."

"We'll give you a hundred." Wallace offered. Alan grinned.

"I'll take it!" He exclaimed.

"Sorry, but we just got another offer." Gus turned it down on his behalf.

"From who?" I demanded incredulously.

"From me! This comic sounds like it could be worth a billion dollars!" He pulled another piece of paper out of his bag. "Here's my offer."

"Deal." Alan took the paper from him.

"But there's nothing written on there!" Wallace protested.

"I know." Alan nodded. "I just really needed a piece of paper."

"Slow down." Gus stopped him before he could do anything with the paper. "As your agent, ten percent of that is mine."

Alan sighed, but ripped a tenth of the paper off and handed Gus the tiny piece before looking back at his own. Wallace and I exchanged looks, knowing that we would need a new plan.

**Dani's POV**

"Okay, so I isolated Skylar's chromosomes in the centrifuge, and interlaced regenerative tissue from heroes with comparable superpowers." Ollie droned on, trying to explain his process to us. "So do you think that might work?"

Meanwhile, Kaz and I were just staring at him, feeling like idiots. "Um, you did what with the what in the what?"

"Honestly, man, the only words I understood were 'Skylar', 'heroes', and 'superpowers'." Kaz agreed, holding open the door to the rec room.

"I think it would work." Alivia mentioned as we walked in, her being the only one of us to understand a thing he just said. Horace and Skylar were inside, the latter standing in the training simulator and the latter standing behind one of the many machines that connected to it.

"Hey Skylar, looking," Ollie began to greet her, until her arms exploded right out of her body. "AHHH!"

We all stared at her in horror at what just happened, and unable to understand why she wouldn't have even reacted.

"Relax, relax." Horace quickly assured us. "That's not actually Skylar; I created a holographic simulation of her to run tests."

"Wow!" Ollie exclaimed, once he got over his shock. He moved closer to her, examining the hologram with interest. "It looks exactly like her. Her face, her legs, her hair…"

"Dude, stop flirting with hologram Skylar!" Kaz snapped, shaking his head at my brother.

"I'm just glad the real Skylar's arms didn't explode." I commented as Ollie stepped away from the hologram.

"Of course not." Horace reassured us. "That won't happen until Tuesday."

"What?" Alivia demanded as we all stared at him. Horace sighed.

"I have terrible news." He admitted. "I accelerated the timeline on the simulation and discovered that not only will Skylar lose her powers forever, but on Tuesday, her limbs will explode and she'll die."

"So, if Skylar doesn't get her powers back, she'll die on Tuesday?" Ollie murmured, eyes as wide as saucers.

"No, her arms will explode on Tuesday. She'll die on Thursday." Horace corrected him. He gave us apologetic looks. "I've done everything I can. All we can do now is make her comfortable."

"But…but…" Ollie protested, too shocked for words.

"Give her these." Horace continued, pulling a pair of very fluffy slippers. "Until her feet explode, which will also happen on Tuesday, it'll be like wearing a hug on her feet."

"We have a possible cure." I interrupted him, suddenly remembering why we'd come in her. Ollie nodded, pulling the glass vial out of his pocket and handing it to Horace.

"Horace, can you run the simulation with this serum? Maybe it'll work." He suggested. Horace didn't reply, but immediately put the serum in the simulation. He pressed a button and for a moment, we were all hopeful that it would work. Then her head exploded.

"If it makes you feel any better," Horace said when he saw the distraught look on Ollie's face, "that was already going to happen on Wednesday."

"Hey," I put my hand on his shoulder, "her people's heads grow back, remember? It's not the end of the world."

"She's going to die, Dani." He told me, his tone cold. I nodded sadly.

"Okay, that means that we have until midnight to find a way to Skylar's powers back, or she'll explode." Alivia stated. She had a determined look on her face. "Time to brainstorm, people!"

**Xxx**

"What have we come up with so far?" Ollie questioned, pacing in front of a white board in the rec room. We all glanced down at our notepads. "Alivia."

"Super glue?" She suggested. He gave her a look. "Hey, if we use enough of it, then her arms might not come off!"

"Dani?" My brother turned to me expectantly, but I just shook my head guiltily.

"Sorry, Ollie." I apologized, upset with myself. Skylar was one of my best friends, and I couldn't think of anything to save her. I knew I should have a million thoughts, but my mind was a complete blank.

"Kaz, please." He looked at Kaz pleadingly, a look of desperation on his face.

"Um." Kaz grinned sheepishly before reading off his notepad. "'Ways to Get Skylar's Powers Back. Number One.' And then a doodle of a guy peeking over a fence."

"Guys, come on! This is Skylar we're talking ab-" He stopped.

"What?" Kaz questioned, looking at him as if he could see the wheels turning in my brother's head.

"Whenever the Annihilator steals a superhero's powers, he keeps them as a trophy." He said quickly, almost tripping over his words in his excitement. "If we can find his lair-"

"We can break in and steal back Skylar's powers!" Kaz exclaimed, finishing his sentence.

"But how?" Alivia questioned. "The location of the Annihilator's lair is one of the biggest secrets in the superhero world."

"That, and the fact that the Crusher dyes his hair." Kaz added, a smirk on his face. "That guy's been 29 for, like, ten years. You ain't fooling anyone, man."

"Experion." The name came to me instantly. Everyone was staring at me, waiting for me to elaborate. "He was working for the Annihilator. He would know, wouldn't he? Maybe we can talk him into helping us."

"Experion is locked up in Mighty Max prison, remember?" Alivia reminded me. "There was a fight in the dark, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." I nodded. "Ollie wore a wig and dressed up in Skylar's costume."

"Stop bringing that up!" Ollie snapped at me. I smiled at him teasingly.

"Fine, but I'm keeping the picture as my phone's wallpaper." I mocked him.

"Look, we're running out of time." Ollie insisted. "We have to go to Mighty Max right now."

"Guys." Alivia said softly. She nodded towards the other end of the room, where Skylar was talking to the Crusher.

"She can't find out." I murmured. Ollie nodded in agreement.

"She'll want to battle the Annihilator and she'll get hurt." He agreed.

"Or worse." Kaz added. We all exchanged looks. "No one say a word."

"Agreed." We all decided together.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" Skylar questioned cheerfully, walking over to us.

"Nothing!" We all said, maybe a little too quickly.

"What are you up to?" Alivia questioned, quickly covering for us.

"I'm creating a signature drink for my party." She explained, smiling at us. "Does ranch dressing go with ginger ale?"

"Skylar, c'mon!" Kaz looked at her, disappointed. "Ranch dressing goes with everything!"

"Great!" She grinned at us, as Philip and a couple of nurses walked past us. "Thanks for your help."

"Oh, you're welcome!" Philip cried, mistakenly thinking that she was talking to him. "It's so nice to have someone appreciate me!"

"Actually, I was talking to them." She said sheepishly.

"You people disgust me!" Philip spat, storming away from us.

"Anyway," I commented, shaking my head as we all got up, "we'll see ya later, Skylar."

"Where are you guys going?" She asked curiously.

"Um…" We hadn't thought of that.

"Nowhere." Kaz lied. We all bolted from the room before she could question us more, heading straight for Mighty Max.

**Clyde's POV**

"So, what do you think of my comic book?" Alan questioned hopefully, looking at Gus. The two boys had been sitting on the couch in the store for a few minutes now, discussing their new business with each other.

"This going to be the next big thing…that I throw into this trash can." Gus announced, tossing the comic book into the nearby trash can. Wallace and I exchanged looks, watching them in silence. Maybe this would work out in our favor.

"What?!" Alan demanded, leaping to his feet.

"You're fired, and you can have your ten percent back." Gus told him. Alan didn't even get the chance to respond before he continued. "Anyways, I gotta bounce."

"What? Wait!" The black-haired boy tried to stop him. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Seriously, I gotta bounce." Gus insisted. "I'm in the middle of a bounce-a-thon right now! Wish me luck!"

He fled from the store, grabbing one of those kiddie riding bouncy balls on his way out. He headed straight into the middle of a crowd of kids bouncing on similar balls.

"Wallace," I looked at my other half "I just thought of a way to manipulate Alan into bringing us the other half of the Dyad."

Without waiting for his response, I walked over to Alan, shoulders back and a mask of determination on my face.

"Alan, listen. About your comic book…Look, we know it's not made up and your Uncle Horace is the head of Mighty Med." I said quickly.

"Uh…I don't know what you're talking about." The kid lied nervously.

"It's okay." I assured him. "We're with the League of Heroes, and we're recruiting you."

"Here are our invisible badges." We both pretended to show him invisible badges. I smiled inwardly – that was good thinking on Wallace's part.

"Okay, your story checks out." Alan nodded, completely buying the entire thing.

"Anyway, we think you could be the greatest superhero of all time." I continued. He beamed at the compliment.

"I knew I was meant for greatness, despite what my Uncle Horace thinks!" He exclaimed. "All that dreaming about doing exercise will finally pay off!"

"Yes." Wallace agreed, holding up our half of the Dyad of Nebulan. "Now, all we need if your Uncle's half of this, the Dyad of Nebulan, which combined with our half will give you endless powers."

"Wait." Alan frowned. "Why wouldn't my Uncle Horace have told me about this?"

"He's keeping it a secret! He's jealous of you fulfilling your destiny!" Wallace lied. Alan shook his head, looking at us suspiciously.

"I don't believe you." He told us. "My Uncle Horace would never hide something that important from me. Never!"

He dashed off, presumably about to go question his uncle. Which meant that we were screwed.

"Great! Now what?" I demanded, panicking. "If he tells his uncle that we work at the Domain, Diaz is going to come after us! We need to get out of town. I hear the Poconos are nice."

"No!" Wallace snapped. "I refuse to hide, or take a lovely three-day weekend getaway. Let him come. We will defeat him and fine on fresh Horace D'oeuvres!"

I looked at him. "Horace D'oeuvres? Really?"

"I'd like to see you come up with Horace Diaz-related wordplay."

"Fine." I accepted the challenge, then tried to think. "Horace Race Diaz…Horace Radish Diaz…okay. Fine, you're right." I submitted. "I'm sorry."

**Dani's POV**

"This way." One of the security guards led us through the halls of Mighty Max. This prison was designed to hold hundreds of supervillains, with cells as far as the eye can see. "Here we are."

"Thank you." Alivia nodded at the guard and he walked away. We then turned to face Experion's cell. It was the same as the rest of them a tiny, hexagonal-prism shaped room with nothing more than a couple of slabs for beds and a toilet in the far corner. There were no bars on the cell, giving us a clear view inside. Experion himself was lying on the slab, facing the wall, asleep.

"I don't get it." Ollie frowned, looking at the cell. "Mighty Max holds some of the most dangerous villains in the universe. Why are there no bars on the cells?"

"Because this is so much more effective." Alivia told him, reaching out. It looks like she was going to reach through the cell, but instead, she tapped an invisible barrier that stood between us and Experion. It made a weird, yet cool, sound when she touched it, that section of the barrier lighting up gold for a brief second.

"Cool!" Kaz grinned, beginning to tap out a beat on it. "I sound so good!"

I laughed in agreement, even though there was complaining grumbles coming from inside the cell. "Would you knock it off? I'm trying to-" Experion rolled over, a surprised look appearing on his face when he saw us. "Oh, it's you four."

"Hello, Experion." Alivia smirked beneath her mask. "How's Mighty Max treating you?"

"Oh, great." He rolled his eyes, tone dripping with sarcasm. "Let me give you a tour. This is it. I never leave this room."

"We heard Megahertz is your cellmate." Ollie commented thoughtfully. "Where is he?"

"Solitary confinement." He replied dismissively. "He broke a guard's name tag."

"That's it?" I questioned.

"On my planet, name tag means pelvis." Experion explained.

"Got it." I nodded. He looked around, trying to see if there was someone behind us.

"So, uh, how's Skylar doing?" He asked, actually sounding sincerely concerned.

"Oh, you mean since you tried to capture her and bring her to the Annihilator?" Ollie challenged.

"Yeah, I feel bad about that." Experion admitted. When he saw my skeptical look, he continued. "I tried writing her an apology note and everything, but all I could come up with was 'dear Skylar' and a picture of a guy looking over a fence."

"It's the go-to doodle." Kaz chuckled.

"Look, if you really want to make it up to Skylar, you can help us out." I announced. He looked at me, giving me his full attention. "It's been a year since her powers were taken. That means, by midnight tonight, if she doesn't get them back, her arms are going to explode, and by Thursday she will be dead."

Experion swallowed. "What do you need?"

"We suspect that the Annihilator still has her powers. We need to find his lair, and get access to it." Alivia informed him. He nodded.

"Fine, I'll tell you, but only to help Skylar." He agreed.

"Fair enough." Ollie nodded.

"The Annihilator keeps her powers on a shelf in his lair, like you would a trophy or a vase or a ceramic elephant or-"

"We know what shelves are for." Ollie cut him off. "We're kinda in a rush here. Where's his lair?"

"You know that old abandoned slaughter house?" He questioned in response. I gulped nervously. Slaughterhouses, gross.

"Yeah?" Kaz nodded.

"It's about four blocks East of there in a pretty nice neighborhood." He continued, much to my, and everyone else's relief. "Underground, in a dark, scary sewer." The boys both groaned but to be honest, I'd take sewer over slaughterhouse any day. "The Annihilator leaves his lair everyday between 2:00 and 4:00 – he likes to annihilate after lunch."

"Alright, how do we get in? He's got to have security." Alivia said. Experion nodded.

"The only way in is through a system of retina scanners." He replied. "The only other person who's authorize to enter is me."

"Great." Oliver muttered. "Then there's no way we can get in."

"Not unless we had one of his eyeballs, but obviously, that's never going to – what are you doing?" I cut myself off, staring at Experion is disgusted horror as he reached towards his face and literally pulled his own eyeball out of his skull, hardly even flinching.

"What?" He looked at our horrified expressions in confusion as another eyeball appeared in the place of the one he'd just removed. He blinked a couple of times before continuing. "You guys can't grow new eyeballs?"

"No." I retorted, staring at the eyeball between his fingers. He rolled his eyes – the ones in the sockets, at least.

"Normos." He muttered under his breath.

**Xxx**

**Dani's POV**

"Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew." Alivia complained the entire way down to the Annihilator's lair, holding the eyeball out as far as she could from herself. "I hate you guys for making me do this."

"Just scan it," Kaz said, rolling his eyes. She sent him a glare, but did as she was told, holding the eyeball under the scanner until the door in front of us slid open. The lair was pretty much as you'd expect – dark, gloomy, and creepy. There were cobwebs hanging from the corner of the ceiling, and almost everything was cracked or damaged in some shape or form. At the far end of the room, there was a set of three very long shelves, lined with brightly glowing, multicolored cylinders, each with a label underneath.

"What do I do this thing now?" Alivia wrinkled her nose in disgust.

"Just put it in the eyeball recycling bin." I suggested, nodding towards a blue bin labelled 'eyeballs'.

"Look." Kaz walked towards the shelves. "It's all the superheroes' powers that the Annihilator stole."

"Yeah." Ollie agreed. "And look! Their weapons!" He pointed at a nearby table that was littered with different weapons.

"Absolute Zero's freeze ray." I listed, going through them. "Owlgirl's whip of truth. Hey, Liv, isn't this yours?"

I handed her a dark green, handheld blaster. "My dad's actually." She shoved the weapon into her back pocket. "Thanks."

"Here's Skylar's powers!" Ollie exclaimed suddenly. We turned to see him reaching for a hot pink cylinder. Even without a label, we should have guessed that it was hers. He stumbled a bit after he lifted it up. "Whoa! I didn't know superpowers were so heavy."

Just as we were about to walk out with our friend's powers, we all heard clanging coming from the hallway.

"Oh no." Kaz froze. "The Annihilator's coming."

"You don't know that." I laughed nervously, trying to be optimistic. "Maybe it's just someone picking up with eyeball recycling."

Then we heard growling.

"I think the eyeball recycling guy comes on Wednesdays." Ollie replied, backing up as we heard more growling. Then, the Annihilator walked in.

Now, comic books usually exaggerate their characters, making them look bigger than life. Villains had the tendency to be big and scary in the comics and just be like normal people, albeit evil, in costumes when we met them for real. But not the Annihilator. He was six, maybe seven feet tall, a black, skin tight suit stretched tight over massive muscles. There was a black visor-like mask covering most of his head, blocking his face from view, but I could feel his glare burning holes in us. A massive black bazooka-shaped weapon hung from a shoulder strap, close enough for him to reach for it and kill us all in a matter of seconds.

"They don't draw him nearly scary enough." Ollie gulped, quickly hiding Skylar's powers behind his back. I nodded in agreement, backing up a little more, until I was bumping shoulders with him and Kaz.

"Who are you?" The Annihilator demanded, his deep voice rumbling. "What do you want?"

"Uh…We're with the eyeball recycling department." Kaz spoke first, always quick to come up with a lie. I nodded quickly.

"Yeah. There, uh," I glanced inside the blue bin, "There seems to be a nose and a couple of lips in here."

"Usually, we would write you up, but we'll let you off with a warning." Ollie added.

"We should be going." Alivia pushed us forwards, towards the door, but before we could make our escape, he pressed a button on his glove, and the door slid shut.

"Now who should I finish off first?" He demanded. Alivia slid into a fighting stance, her hands tightening into fists.

"Bring it." She challenged, splitting into two. Kaz, Ollie, and I bolted, leaping out of the way as the Annihilator caught both of her in an invisible ray. We saw both Alivias stumble, a powdery glow flowing from them to the Annihilator's hand. "Guys, help!"

Kaz grabbed the nearby Freeze Ray, aimed it at the Annihilator, and pulled the trigger. A blast of ice shot out of it, flying straight at him, but the Annihilator spun around and caught it in his hand like it was nothing. Thankfully, it did give Alivia the chance to escape, the two copies darting in opposite directions to get away from him. "He's absorbing the power!" Kaz cried in shock.

The Annihilator placed the ball of ice power into a glass capsule and loaded it into his bazooka. "And he's loading it into his Power Cannon!" I added, dropping to the ground just as the Annihilator shot at us. Luckily, he didn't have the best aim and ended up hitting a pipe right next to us. Steam burst from the hole in the pipe as the Annihilator loaded another capsule into his weapon.

Kaz didn't waste any time though, quickly taking another shot, but this time, at a pipe next to the Annihilator. This time, even more steam came out, filling the room with it. "Very clever!" We heard the Annihilator call as we quickly snuck through the steam, grateful for the cover it provided. "But there's no way out of here. You can't hide from me."

"Through here." I whispered, feeling the wall on our left turn into a grate. I pulled off the metal grate and crawled through. Thankfully, it led straight into the sewers again (I never thought I'd start a sentence like that with the word 'thankfully'), and a manhole cover was in clear view. We were free!

**Clyde's POV**

"We need a new plan to get the dyad." Wallace stated as we paced around the store. Since Alan had run off, presumably to tell his uncle about us, we were fresh out of ideas.

"I got it." I announced. "But I'll need an eyelash."

Without waiting for permission, I plucked an eyelash from the corner of his eye, made a wish, and blew it off my finger. "Ow!" My other half protested.

"I wished a solution would just walk through that door." I told him.

"That won't work." Wallace sighed, "You need to wish on your own eyelash."

I smirked and gestured as Alan Diaz walked into our store, a little breathless and definitely upset about something.

"I apologize; I was mistaken." Wallace told me before turning to Alan. "Alan?"

"You were right about my Uncle. I thought I could trust him, but he betrayed me." He cried. "So I took matters into my own hands."

Wallace and I exchanged looks, wondering how in the world Diaz managed to betray this kid so bad he'd come to us, or what he was talking about. "I took the dyad into my own hands," Alan continued, and to our shock, he pulled his uncle's half of the dyad out of his pocket, "which I will now place into your hands."

Wallace turned to me, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet. "I'm beside myself with excitement."

"No, you're beside me with excitement." I pointed out. He rolled his eyes.

"Well, you look just like me, so I feel like I'm beside me with excitement." He retorted.

Alan, meanwhile, was grinning ear to ear. "I'll prove to my uncle that he was wrong to not believe in me. Now, let's combine the two halves of the dyad and make me the most powerful being ever!" He exclaimed gleefully. "I will never be betrayed again!"

"Yeah, about that," Wallace and I smirked. "There's been a slight change in plans."

**Xxx**

After about a minute, we had Alan tied down to a chair, unable to move except for his head. "Wow, this is not at all what I thought would happen." He admitted. Wallace smirked.

"Your Uncle split us into the two pathetic creatures you see before you, but now, with both halves of this dyad, we can restore ourselves to our true form, the supervillain Catastrophe!" He proclaimed, announcing to the world the plan we'd been working on for years. Finally, our time had come!

"And the first target of our super-villainy will be Mighty Med." I added. "And then that deep dish pizza place."

"Yeah, because that's not pizza." Wallace agreed.

"It's casserole!" We both exclaimed at the same time. Wallace turned on Alan.

"Now, tell us where Mighty Med is." He ordered. Alan shook his head defiantly.

"You'll never get that information out of me!" He retorted. I raised an eyebrow, then gestured at an action figure that was on display on the counter.

"Imagine this is your head." I instructed, before raising my hand and melting the action figure where it stood. Alan got the message loud and clear.

"2635, Cross Station Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19265-0477. The access to Mighty Med is through the janitor's closet in the ER of Memorial Hospital." He said quickly, trembling in fear.

"Yeah, thank you very kindly for that." I replied, nodding at Wallace. He grabbed a scarf from the back and tied it tightly around Alan's mouth, silencing that obnoxious voice of his.

"Now, why don't you go ahead and make yourself at home." Wallace said, pushing Alan's chair behind the curtain that separated the back from the front.

"That is, if you're usually gagged and tied up when you're at home." I added, laughing as we walked out of the Domain, heading straight for Mighty Med.

**Dani's POV**

"I can't believe how close we came to being annihilated." I muttered as we made our way into the rec room. Thankfully, when we looked out through the holes in the manhole cover, we found that it lead to a completely deserted street, saving us from having to wait until traffic was over to climb out, nor did we have to answer awkward questions as to why we were in the sewers in the first place. I glanced at Alivia, who followed behind us tiredly. "Hey, you okay? The Annihilator didn't…"

"No, I still have my powers." She replied, waving me off. "Another minute, and my answer would have been different, but he didn't have enough time to take them from me." She sent Kaz a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it." He shrugged. Ollie sighed, a small smile on his face as he examined the glowing cylinder in his hands.

"At least we can save Skylar's life now." He pointed out, always finding the silver-lining in a bad situation.

"You've never risked your life to save mine." Kaz muttered, obviously still jealous about Ollie and Skylar's friendship. I didn't really blame him – I missed how often Ollie and I used to hang out – but I was started to see it as not quite a bad thing. If Skylar and Ollie actually went out, not only would my brother be happy, but Kaz and I could spend more time together without it be suspicious.

"Oh really?" Ollie rolled his eyes. "I entered your nightmare to help you defeat Megahertz, I battled a fire demon from the lower dimension, and I rescued you from a rampaging smoke monster who tried to possess your soul."

"Yeah, but that was like weeks ago." Kaz blew it off. Ollie shook his head, sighing.

"Okay, now that the time pressure is gone, I can give Skylar her powers later, when we're alone."

"This had better work." Alivia told him. Kaz nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I don't want Skylar to explode." He agreed. "Because then you'll be all sad and I'll get even less attention."

We turned our heads as the doors to the rec room opened, and Skylar walked in, carrying a copy of her usual uniform. "There you are!" She grinned. "I want your guys' opinions on something. I can't decide which outfit to wear to the party. The one I have on, or this one?"

"I don't see the difference." I replied, looking at them. Skylar looked at me as if I had three heads.

"They couldn't be more different! This one has sleeves, and this one doesn't." She insisted.

"Well, I like the one with the sleeves." Ollie offered. "Because you have arms."

"Until midnight." I added. Ollie elbowed me in the ribs, shutting me up. Skylar beamed and nodded, heading back into the hall, just as Kaz began to freak out.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no." He muttered, patting his pockets, his face pale. "Where is it?"

"What's wrong?" Alivia demanded.

"My phone; I can't find it." Ollie and I exchanged looks, remembering how bad Kaz took it when he lost his last phone. "Where is it?" He began to hyperventilate. "Can't breathe, can't breathe, must have access to internet at all times."

"Here." I sighed and pulled my own phone out, handing it to him. "Wi-Fi."

He zeroed in on it, not actually pressing any buttons, but holding it tightly. "This is a disaster!" He exclaimed, but at least he seemed a bit calmer now.

"This is not a disaster; Skylar exploding would have been a disaster." Ollie reasoned.

"Not helping, Oliver." Alivia hissed before looking at Kaz. "Calm down. It's gotta be around here. We'll find it."

"Good." He nodded jerkily. "We better – it's the only one with a copy of that picture of Oliver dressed as Skylar."

I chuckled inwardly. The only copy that they know about, at least.

"Well, we've look everywhere, I guess it's gone." Ollie gave up searching the moment Kaz said that.

"Where could it be?" Kaz wondered aloud, checking under seat cushions.

**Experion's POV**

I chuckled to myself as I typed on Kaz's cellphone, amused. The idiot Normo probably hadn't even noticed it was missing, and by time he did, it would be too late.

"Where did you get that phone?" Megahertz, fresh from solitary confinement, demanded when he caught me using it. I didn't look at him, my attention focused on the tiny screen in front of me.

"I used my magnetic powers to take it out of Kaz's pocket when he came to visit." I replied dismissively.

"He came to visit you and not me? What the heck?" Megahertz shouted, furious. I rolled my eyes; he was always so dramatic. "I met him first! I tried to destroy him months before you did."

"Well, you can try again in a few minutes." I assured him. "The force field locking us in here is computer-generated, and I can deactivate it using a decryption algorithm that I deisgned."

I pressed the last button I needed to and the force field keeping us in our cell glowed gold for a brief moment before disappearing all together. I waved my hand through where the force field used to be just as alarms began blaring all over Mighty Max, proving that my plan had worked.

"Let's get out of here." I told Megahertz, hopping down from my cell with a smirk. "Let's go to Mighty Med so I can finally finish off Skylar Storm."

"Right." Megahertz agreed. He looked behind us at the approaching guards. "But first, can I borrow the phone?" I handed it to him and he held it up with his left hand, his right one extended backwards. "I want to take a selfie of me doing this." He took a picture just as he shot a deadly blast of red electricity at the nearest guards, knocking them out instantly. I chuckled in amusement, wondering why it took me so long to turn to the dark side.

"Hey, can you send me a copy of that?" I requested. "My email's magnetdude caldera . outerspace."

**Dani's POV**

"Well get you a new phone." I promised Kaz, patting his back gently. After two hours of searching, we still couldn't find it, and it was time for Skylar's party. But unfortunately, the party wasn't going the way Skylar had been hoping it would. The food was out – both superhero food and Normo food, since many heroes could eat both - and the music was playing, but so far the only people here were Jaime, Alivia, Skylar, Ollie, Kaz, and myself. Not the greatest turn-out, considering she handed out at least a hundred invitations.

"Where is everybody?" Skylar questioned, deeply upset. She looked around in disappointment, clearly hoping other people would show.

"They probably heard that the party was also for Alan and bailed." Alivia murmured to us. Jaime hummed in agreement, drinking some of her punch.

"This party kinda sucks." She commented.

"Hey, don't worry." Ollie put his hand on Skylar's arm, giving her a reassuring smile. "It's going to be great. And I have an incredible gift for you."

"Really?" Skylar perked up a little. Ollie nodded.

"Trust me – this is going to be a night to remember."

**Clyde's POV**

"According to Alan, Mighty Med is just on the other side of this wall." I told my other half as we squeezed into the janitor's closet. Wallace nodded, smirking.

"When we're finished in there, it's gonna be a Horace-fic Diaz-ster." He declared. I nodded at him appraisingly.

"You know what? I actually like that one." I complimented him.

"Thank you." He smiled back, before pulling out one half of the dyad. I pulled out my half and we slowly brought them together, feeling the power wash over us.

"Now, to restore ourselves to our true villainous form!" We both announced, more than ready to get out revenge.

**Dani's POV**

"Okay, my nachos are soggy." I complained, lifting a limp chip off my plate. We'd been sitting here for hours, but no other guests had shown up. Hell, we didn't even get any new patients.

"It's nine o'clock!" Skylar exclaimed, pacing around the room. "This party sucks."

"Skylar, I'm sure more guests will be here any second." Alivia offered, trying to raise the girl's spirits, even though we all knew the chance of any guests showing up at this point were slim to none.

As if on cue, the doors to Mighty Med exploded, fragment flying towards the wall. We all ducked instantly, shocked and confused. Our confusion increased when a very tall man, with tight, red skin, walked in. He wore a black uniform, with dark colored armor around his waist and wrists, and bronze shoulder pads with red stars on them. A silvery, circular amulet hung from his neck, moving slightly as he turned his head to look around the room. His nose looked strange too, I noticed. Not like Lord Voldemort weird, but as if two noses had been glued together weird.

"Okay, what the heck?" Kaz demanded.

"I am Catastrophe!" He announced, in a soft voice that was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. "I have returned for my revenge."

"Uh, fresh out of revenge. Could I interest you in some nachos instead?" I laughed nervously. I remembered the Catastrophe comics very well, from back when I was little. They were some of Ollie and my first comics, but they'd always been far too graphic for me to enjoy. What I did know about this guy was that he was not messing around.

"Where is Horace Diaz?" He questioned, ignoring me. Two guards ran forward with their weapons, attempting to take him out, but he disposed of them like they were nothing, using an incredible amount of strength to throw them into the counter so hard, the thing crumbled with them.

"We'll never tell." Jaime stepped forwards, hands glowing with sparks of light and electricity. Alivia followed suit, splitting it two so she could cover both her girlfriend's left and right side.

"You'll have to go through us." Both Alivias state in unison.

"Well, then who's going to deal with us?" An all-too-familiar voice chuckled. Experion and Megahertz both stepped inside, smirks on both of their faces.

"Experion?" Skylar's eyes widened in surprise. She looked at us. "After he tried to kill me, I specifically put him on the Do Not Invite list!"

"How did you guys get out of Mighty Max?" Kaz demanded. Experion smirked and pulled Kaz's phone out of his back pocket.

"I 'borrowed' your phone." He smirked before tossing it back to Kaz. "Oh, and by the way, I used up your entire data plan."

Kaz caught the phone, a horrified look on his face. "Hey Kaz?" I said softly. He looked at me. "I found your phone."

He gave me a half-hearted glare, which would have been a little more effective if I hadn't seen his lips twitching upwards, as if he was holding back a smile.

"Four against three, I like these odds." Skylar smirked before charging at Experion. Jaime went for Megahertz, likely because she knew that she was immune to his electric blasts, and the Alivias tried to take down Catastrophe.

Skylar and Experion traded blows, but just like the last time they fought, Experion not only knew Skylar's every move before she made it, but he was also stronger and faster than her. She took a heavy punch to her gut, then Experion flipped her over his shoulder. She groaned as she hit the ground, and Experion stepped over her, not pulling any of his punches. Thankfully, the Crusher chose that moment to finally arrive at Skylar's party.

"Good news! My wife made spinach dip in a bread bowl…oh geez" His pleasant mood dissipated the moment he saw what was going on. He dropped the bread bowl instantly and hit Experion so hard in the back that the Calderan went flying, landing on a gurney with a groan.

Meanwhile, Megahertz and Jaime were pretty much destroying Mighty Med's walls with their powers. They were each shooting blasts of electricity at each other, not to hurt the other, but to distract them while they physically attacked. It would have been a good plan too, if they both hadn't thought of it. However, Jaime was clearly experience with fighting bigger and stronger villain, using her speed and light-weight to her advantage as she darted around him, landing sharp kicks and punches to his exposed sides. Unfortunately, Megahertz was quickly catching on, and it wouldn't be long before he caught her before she could get away.

Alivia was having the most trouble out of all of them, I thought. Catastrophe was all powerful, and even though she'd split into four of herself, she had already had a long, tiring day and wasn't at her peak. She managed to get a few good hits in, but Catastrophe wasted no time in disposing of her duplicates, destroying two of them where they stood, and knocking the other two into a nearby wall as hard as he could. To our horror, neither duplicate attempted to get up, either knocked out completely or worse.

Catastrophe looked at her briefly, as if he was considering what to do with her, then walked away and headed down a hall near him, likely looking for Horace. "We have to do something." I hissed to the boys, watching as Megahertz took out the Crusher.

"I need to get Skylar to the rec room." Ollie decided, looking at us. "If I can get her her powers, she can help defeat the villains."

"Fine, but hurry please." I told him. Kaz nodded.

"Oh, and if you ever throw me a party, fewer villains and more ranch dressing." He suggested. Ollie rolled his eyes, then raced towards Skylar. I looked at Kaz.

"Jaime can't fight them on her own," I told him. He sighed.

"Yeah, I know." He agreed. He smirked. "Wanna do something reckless?"

I smiled back. "Let's do this."

Without giving ourselves to rethink our decision, we each grabbed one of the downed guards' weapons, and took aim at Megahertz.

**Skylar's POV**

"Oliver, what's going on?" I demanded as my friend pulled me into the rec room, away from the fight. He'd just run into the middle of the fight, nearly getting himself killed, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me in here without any sort of explanation, leaving Spark to fight Megahertz and, when he inevitably recovered from the Crusher's attack, Experion on her own. "Why are there so many villains at Mighty Med? And how did Experion get Kaz's phone?"

"No time to explain." Oliver headed for the cupboard. He fiddled with the lock as he spoke. "But I have something for you that might help."

To my shock, he pulled a large cylinder, glowing a hot pink color, out of the cupboard. I could feel myself drawn to it, as if it were calling to me. Power radiated from it. "Your powers."

"My powers?" Of course I had recognized it, but I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. My powers, right here, in front of me. I reached for the cylinder, then pulled my hands away, unreasonably afraid that if I touched them, they'd disappear again. "Oliver…this…this is incredible. How did you…when…"

Oliver smiled kindly. "I promised you the first day I met you that I'd get your powers back." He reminded me. "Happy anniversary."

He held them out to me and I took them from him, examining it in amazement. They were really here. I tore my eyes away from the precious gift, turning to Oliver. "Wow. Oliver, I can't tell you how much this means to me."

He smiled for a second, before it faded away into a horrified expression. Before I could react to it, and before he could say anything, something hot knocked my powers away from me. I spun around and found myself face to face with my greatest enemy – the Annihilator. "Skylar Storm." He mused.

"The Annihilator?" I'd spent a year trying to track him down, to no avail, and yet here he was.

"Just to be clear, I did not invite him." Oliver told me.

"Skylar Storm," The Annihilator mused again. Despite his mask, I could feel his eyes on me. "I finally found you, thanks to your little friend here. I always equip my trophies with a tracking device."

I felt Oliver still next to me. "Oops." He muttered regretfully.

I glared at the monstrous villain who had tried to ruin my life a year ago. "For the past year, I have thought of nothing but how I'd get my revenge against you." I announced coldly. "You're going to regret coming here."

I dropped into a roll, trying to reach my powers, but he shot them out of my grasp again. "Stop!" Oliver shouted as the Annihilator advanced on me. "You're going to annihilate her!"

"That's the idea, genius!" The Annihilator snapped, taking a shot at Oliver. He dodged it with ease, hitting the ground and rolling out of harm's way.

**Dani's POV**

"You check on Geminus, I got this." I called to Kaz as we raced into the fight. He nodded, running to the red-head's side as I looked up at the security bots that Experion had begun to use against us. No was surprised really – it was the same trick he pulled last time, and this time, I was ready.

It took me a few seconds to figure out how the weapon worked – I was never the greatest with high tech anything, but it was a fairly similar model to the kind used in some of my favorite video games, so I got the hang of it pretty quickly. "Spark!" I called. The blonde superhero looked at me. "You get the left one, I'll take right?"

"Do it!" She ordered. She raised her hands and a blast of electricity, yellow as opposed to Megahertz' red, at one of the security bots, while I shot at the other. It took me a few more shots than hers, since my accuracy was shit and my weapon wasn't nearly as powerful as she was, but we managed to destroy the security bots. I turned to congratulate her, but Megahertz took advantage of her distraction and blasted her, knocking her to the ground.

He turned on me next, and I slowly began to back up. "Hey!" Kaz shouted, taking a shot at Megahertz. It bounced off him harmlessly and Megahertz raised an eyebrow at him. "Oops."

Thankfully, the people Skylar had invited to the party were FINALLY starting to show up. Grey Granite, my favorite superhero literally built out of rocks, appeared behind Megahertz and hit him from behind with his stone staff. Megahertz turned to face his opponent, but Grey Granite let himself crumbles back into pebbles, the mass of rocks moving towards Megahertz until he was right in front of the villain. He reformed quickly, and delivered a strong kick to Megahertz' groin.

"Ouch, that's got to hurt." I commented, sneaking back over to Kaz and Alivia.

"She's out cold, but her vitals are strong." He murmured to me. I nodded, watching as the Crusher attacked Experion.

"Guys!" Alan burst through the destroyed entrance to Mighty Med and slipped over to us, trying to stay unnoticed by the supervillains. "There's a supervillain coming to destroy my Uncle Horace."

"Big, red, and ugly? Yeah, we met him." I commented dryly, wincing as Experion managed to knock Owl Girl, having now joined the fight, off her feathered feet.

"What's going on?" Alan demanded, looking at the fight in confusion.

"We're under attack." Kaz explained.

"Turns out, Catastrophe wasn't the only guy who decided that today would be a good day to get revenge. Megahertz and Experion broke out of Mighty Max and they're really pissed that we put them in there." I elaborated. Suddenly, Ollie stepped out of the hall near us. "Hey, how's the thing with Skylar going?"

"She's fighting the Annihilator." He told us, voice full of dread. "And she's not winning. How are things going out here?"

"AHH!" Jaime screamed as she was violently tossed across the room.

"How do you think?" Kaz commented sarcastically.

"They can't win. The villains are too powerful, and there's too many of them, and not enough of us." I worried. "We need to do something."

"We have to disable their powers, but how?" Kaz demanded.

"Hold on." Ollie stopped him. "In the very first issue of the league of heroes, the star of Galtrax burst into a supernova, and everyone caught in the path of the positronic pulse lost their powers for a few minutes."

"Interesting. You got any Positronic stars on you, by any chance?" Kaz questioned rhetorically. Oliver smirked.

"I do, actually." He answered. Kaz and I stared at him, and he sighed. "Seriously, don't you guys ever listen to Horace? There's one in the floor."

"Oh, cool." Maybe we should listen to Horace more often. "But we'll need to supercharge it."

"Right." Ollie nodded, looking at Alan. "Alan, can you open the positronic reactor?"

"What's in it for me?" The younger boy retorted.

"Uh, I don't know. Staying alive!" Ollie snapped as Experion took down Grey Granite.

"Oh no." I murmured, watching as Catastrophe dragged Horace into the room by the back of his coat.

"Uncle Horace!" Alan cried, starting to stand up. Every villain and hero in the room stopped, watching Catastrophe and Horace.

"Kneel, Diaz." Catastrophe ordered, releasing him. "Bow down before Catastrophe."

"Never!" Horace spat, glaring up at the super villain. Catastrophe grabbed him by the shoulder and forced him down onto the ground. He tried to get back up, but Catastrophe hit him in the back of the head, sending him back onto the ground once more. Alan moved to go help his uncle, but I grabbed him by the back of his sweater vest, stopping him. If he tried to do anything, he would just get himself killed, and though Alan was hardly my favorite person in the world, I wasn't about to let that happen.

"Alan, if I don't make it…just remember that I love…" Horace began. Alan looked at him eagerly. "I love…bridges."

Then, Horace passed out, presumably from the heavy blow Catastrophe had delivered.

"If we're going to do something, we need to do it now." Kaz looked at me and my brother.

"We need to make that supernova." Ollie looked at Alan. "Open the reactor."

Alan walked over to a nearby wall and put his hand on it. A holographic hand scanner appeared underneath, then a keypad appeared next to him. He quickly pressed four digits, then nodded to us as the holographic pad disappeared. A hole in the floor began to open up, a menacing glow shooting from it.

I glanced at the boys. "One of these days, I'm gonna get killed doing crap like this."

"What are you talking about?" Ollie questioned. I smirked.

"Follow my lead, boys." I replied before running into the middle of the room, just behind the hole to the reactor, then smirked at Megahertz. "Hey Leslie, remember me?" I called teasingly. Megahertz glared furiously at me, hating how I brought up his real name. I gulped nervously, watching as a large ball of red electricity began to form in his hands. "Boys?" Megahertz threw the ball of electricity. I leapt out of the way. "Now!"

Kaz held up a metal tray at the perfect moment. The ball of electricity hit it and bounced off, through the hole and into the positronic reactor. Blue sparks began to swirl around the room, almost like fast-moving fireflies, just as the power went out. Seconds later, the back-up generators kicked in, bathing the room in a red glow.

"My powers aren't working!" Megahertz exclaimed furiously as Kaz helped me up. The black-haired boy laughed.

"It's the positronic reactor. It temporarily disabled everyone's powers." He replied proudly. The other heroes in the room took advantage of this, The Crusher and Jaime dragging Experion out of the room forcefully, while Grey Granite manhandled Megahertz towards the door.

"Alan, we only have a few minutes. You have to get the dyad from Catastrophe." Ollie told the boy.

"Why me?" Alan protested.

"Fine, I'll do it." I sighed. Now that Catastrophe was powerless, he wasn't nearly as scary.

"No way!" Alan pushed me out of the way. "I'm not going to let you get all the credit. I'll do it myself."

"Fine, whatever." I shrugged, walking back to Kaz and Ollie.

"We should go help Skylar before the Annihilator gets his powers back." Ollie told me.

"You guys go. Alan might need some back up, and there are injured superheroes here who need help." I reasoned. They both nodded and rushed off to help our friend, while I stayed back. I walked slowly over to Alivia, keeping my eyes on Catastrophe. Powers or not, he was still an experience villain. If it looked for even a moment that he was going to seriously hurt Alan, Horace, or anyone else, all I'd have to do is pull the trigger on the guard's weapon that I still had in my possession.

Catastrophe quickly dealt with the guard who'd tried to take him away to Mighty Max, knocking the man unconscious and spinning around to deal one final blow to Horace. I raised the weapon, but Alan stopped us both.

"Leave him alone!" He shouted.

"Or what? You're just a little boy in a sweater." Catastrophe mocked him.

"Well, that was a mistake." Alivia mumbled, slowly pushing herself onto her elbows. Alan's face twisted in rage.

"It's a sweater vest!" He shouted before charging at Catastrophe. He tackled the villain to the ground before he could react, and swiped the dyad from his neck. Before Catastrophe could steal it back, Alan pulled the two halves apart, and Catastrophe disappeared in a flash of blind light. When the light died away, what was left in his place were…

"Wallace and Clyde?" I questioned, shocked and confused, as the two owners of the Domain slowly climbed to their feet. "Seriously?"

"Your tricked me!" Alan accused them, glaring at them with a hurt expression.

"It wasn't a trick, it was a test." Clyde insisted. "You just proved that you're the rightful heir to the dyad."

"Okay, maybe I hit my head a little harder than I thought." Alivia muttered. "Do you see Wallace and Clyde?"

"I am?" Alan looked at them, skeptical.

"Yes." Clyde nodded eagerly. "Use the dyad on yourself, and with our help, you could become the most powerful being in the universe."

"And maybe to thank us, you could give us a continent to rule." Wallace suggested. "But not Australia."

"Yeah, is it a country or a continent?" Clyde questioned. The two began to bicker as to whether or not Australia was a continent or a country, while Alan deeply considered their offer.

"Alan!" I called to him. He looked at me, a torn look in his eyes. I shook my head at him gently. "No. Don't do this."

"Alan, destroy the dyad." In all the commotion, no one noticed that Horace had regained consciousness. "Throw it in the reactor."

"Shut it!" Wallace and Clyde snapped at us. I flinched, my finger bouncing on the trigger, but I didn't dare press it. While my aim wasn't bad, I couldn't be sure that I wouldn't hit Alan or Horace. "Alan, with this dyad, you'll be feared by men, loved by women!"

"Ignored by cats." Wallace added. "Because you know how cats are."

"Alan, don't do this." Alivia stumbled to her feet, grabbing my arm for support. "You're not that kind of person."

"Ignore her. Do it, Alan." Clyde encouraged him. "Claim your destiny."

For a moment, I thought Alan was going to fall for it, that he was going to do what they asked. Then, he shrugged. "Nah, seems like too much work." And he dropped the two halves of the dyad into the reactor.

**Skylar's POV**

"Skylar Storm! You can't hide from me!" The Annihilator called. The emergency lights were dimmed, barely allowing light into the room, so he couldn't see me very well.

"I'm right behind you." I called. He spun around, and faced the training simulator. I could see my reflection gleaming in his visor. He approached just as Oliver and Kaz burst in.

"No!" Oliver shouted, but the Annihilator swung his knife anyway, the blade cutting through the waist of my holographic duplicate.

"What?" He snarled in shock. I leapt out of my hiding place in the shadows, cartwheeling my way to him until I was close enough to kick him in the back. I pushed him forwards with my kick, sending him spiraling into the floor of the training simulator. As he started to get back up, I hit a button on the simulator controls, activating the force field that had once kept Kaz and I from being killed by an out of control Brain Matter.

"Finally." I grinned as the Annihilator slammed his fists into the force field wall, unable to escape. I turned to Kaz and Oliver, still smiling. "That guy was a huge pain in the neck. Literally – he kicked me in the neck, like, five times."

"I'm so glad you're okay." Oliver told me, a relieved look on his face. I smiled at him gently.

"Oliver, You got my powers back, and you tried to defend me from the Annihilator. You're incredible." I told him sincerely. "I don't know how to repay you."

I leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, much to his surprise. He turned to Kaz. "Yes, cheek. Exactly what I risked my life for."

"And thank you too, Kaz." I added, making sure not forget him. I knew how unappreciated he'd felt lately, and it would be mean to exclude him.

"No problem." He assured me, just as Dani's head poked in.

"Hey, Catastrophe's dealt with, and I've got nurses looking over Horace and Gem, but I'm pretty sure they're going to be fine." She told us, walking in. "Everything cool in here?"

"Yeah, the Annihilator's locked up good until we can get him to Mighty Max." I replied. She smiled.

"Good. Nice work, Skylar." She told me. She looked at Kaz and Oliver. "Listen, Ollie, about that supernova idea…"

"Nice work, man." Kaz finished for her. She nodded in agreement.

"Thanks." Oliver nodded. "And nice work getting Megahertz to hurt the ball of electricity into the reactor."

"And we could have worked that out." Dani added, smiling at them.

"That's why we're best friends." Kaz agreed. Dani opened her arms, always the first one to ask for a hug, and they all pulled each other close. I watched their little group hug for a moment, feeling a little left out. Kaz sighed after a moment and removed the arm he had around Oliver's back and held it out to me. "Bring it in."

I smiled brightly, and squeezed in between them, feeling like a part of the group.

**Dani's POV**

When we walked back into the ER, nurses were busy at work, helping out the heroes who'd been caught in the fight. Alivia and Horace had both gotten the worst of it – though they were both upright and conscious. The former was getting quite a bit of attention from her girlfriend, Jaime having refused any treatment until Alivia had been checked out. Meanwhile, Horace was in a hospital bed near the back, watching all the nurses work.

"Horace, are you okay?" Kaz questioned, running up to him. Alan followed right behind us, a slightly guilty look on his face. I suspected that he had felt bad about what had happened with Catastrophe – judging by their conversation, I figured that they'd tricked Alan into telling them how to get in here.

"Not really. This ranch dressing and ginger ale is terrible." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. Skylar shrugged helplessly, although a little disappointed that he didn't like her new drink. He turned to Alan. "Alan, you saved my life. Thank you." He smiled at his nephew for a moment, before frowning in confusion. "But why would you take my half of the dyad?"

"They said you betrayed me!" Alan pointed accusingly at Wallace and Clyde, who were being handcuffed by a pair of guards. "They said the dyad would make me a superhero! But they used it to make themselves a supervillain."

"Wallace and Clyde?" Ollie and Kaz finally noticed their presence, having been too concerned about Horace to notice them earlier. "They're Catastrophe."

"Are you really that surprised? Ollie and I have known they were evil for ages." I commented. Kaz looked at us, surprised.

"How?" He questioned.

"They never gave back correct change." Ollie reasoned.

"How would you know?" Clyde spat.

"You never bought anything!" Wallace added as the guards dragged them from the room.

"Alan," Horace said, bringing his nephew's attention back to him, "I would never betray you. And just so you know, you don't need the dyad of Nebulan to be super powerful; you already are."

"Thanks." Alan gave his uncle a hug, smiling brightly. Horace hugged him back.

"Oh, and happy birthday!" He added as Alan pulled away. "I made you something. You're really gonna love it."

"It's not another model of a bridge made of other models of bridges, is it?" Alan asked hopefully, probably sick of getting the same kind of gift year after year. Horace's smile faded.

"Never mind." He replied.

"Speaking of presents…" Ollie stepped away from the hospital bed, cradling the cylinder with Skylar's powers in it in his arms. He turned to the superhero. "You still haven't opened your yet."

"That's, uh, from all of us." Kaz interjected before Ollie could reply.

"I can't believe it." Skylar smiled, a look of awe on her face as she took the cylinder from him. There were tears in the corners of her eyes. "I'm finally going to get my powers back."

"Well, go on." Alivia encouraged, walking over to us, Jaime's armed looped through hers. "Open it."

Skylar looked down at the cylinder for a long moment, savoring it, then broke the seal and removed the cap. The light inside flew out in balls of smoke, the pink fumes circling her. They began to land on her chest and arms, dissolving into a faint glow whenever they landed. When all the smoke was gone, along with the fading lights from when they touched her, Skylar's body flew into the air. Skylar stared down at us, beyond words.

"Oh my god." Alivia gasped, watching.

"It-It worked!" Skylar's laugh of disbelief echoed her excitement. "I can fly!"

She stretched her arms out, and a hole formed mid-air, a starry expanse visible from the outside. "And I can create space portals again!"

She flew through it, disappearing from our field of view as the hole closed up behind her. It opened up again a second later, and she flew back in, elated. "I just flew to Caldera, and I brought back some good old fashioned diarrhea!"

Everyone else backed up as she pulled candy from her pockets and threw it to us. Everyone except Kaz and I, as we both reached out and caught handfuls of it. "Fine, more diarrhea for us then." Kaz commented, smirking to the others as he tossed a gumdrop into his mouth.

"Amazing. I've never seen such a complete restoration of powers." Horace beamed at Skylar as she landed gently next to us. Meanwhile, a guard was leading the Annihilator into the room. "Skylar, I need to run some tests on you."

"Oka…" Skylar stopped, hesitating for a moment as a weird, blank expression crossed over her face. She shook her head once, then we watched in horror as the pink streak in her hair faded to white, and her expression turned from confused to hateful. "You're not going to be running anything anymore."

She swung one hand backwards, at the guard who was accompanying the Annihilator, and, using her telekinesis, sent him flying through the glass M sign above the entrance. She then reached out and used her laser-hands ability to destroy the handcuffs around the Annihilator's wrists. "Mighty Med belongs to the Annihilator now."

"What?" Ollie demanded, staring at her.

"You tampered with her powers." Jaime realized, looking at the Annihilator in horror.

"But when?" Alivia question.

"During our battle in the hospital." The Annihilator replied. "Now she's evil, and under my command."

"No." I shook my head in disbelief. This couldn't actually be happening. We just won! We were supposed to be celebrating, not getting into more danger!

Horace tried to use his freezing ability on her, but Skylar was too fast, leaping into the air to avoid it, and then punching him hard in the gut. She spun around quickly, shooting blasts of powerful energy at Alivia and Jaime, knocking both girls out already. She then turned on Alan, who ran away screaming in hopes of protecting himself.

Both the Annihilator and Skylar looked at us menacingly as Kaz, Ollie, and I backed away, suddenly very, very afraid. "There's a storm coming." Skylar told us, eyes narrowed. "Skylar Storm."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dani, Kaz, Skylar, Alivia, and Oliver will return in The Days of Our Lives: Villains


End file.
